


Little Devil

by Kneeshee



Series: Jamila's Adventures [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days, Under the Red Hood
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Day Five, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags Are Hard, Talia Al Ghul Appreciation Week 2k18, Talia is a good mother, Tiger Mom Talia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2019-09-02 06:44:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16781695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kneeshee/pseuds/Kneeshee
Summary: I posted this earlier since "publication date cannot be in the future"...





	1. |one|

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this earlier since "publication date cannot be in the future"...

There was a toddler sitting on his kitchen counter.

Jason stared at her.

She stared at him.

They stared at each other.

“Are you honestly having a staring contest with a child,” a sharp, accented voice spoke from his left. Jason spun around subconsciously bringing forth the flame dagger to defend himself and the mystery child. Leaning calmly against his kitchen wall was Lady Shiva who seemed unbothered by the flaming dagger in his hand. Given that she could kill him without breaking a sweat, he had no trouble believing that was the case. The weirdness part was the diaper bag she had swung across her body. She looked almost maternal.

“What the hell are you doing in my house,” he demanded, and he honestly wanted to know. He didn’t have the time for holes in his security. It was already hard enough to keep the damn bats away now he had to worry about assassins also?

“Now that’s no way to speak in front of a child,” the assassin teased as she moved closer, and Jason tensed. His self-preservation was currently telling him to get the hell out of dodge.

“There has been unrest in the League since the fall of Ra Al Ghul. In an attack orchestrated by the forgotten one, Nyssa, Mistress Talia has been regressed into her younger years.”

And _no. Hell no._

Jason turned slowly back to the child. His mind wanted to cling to the denial, but it was all there. The sun-kissed skin. The wavy dark brown locks. Piercing green eyes. Not to mention the holier-than-thou sneer on her face.

“T?” He heard himself question, and she turned her nose up at him with such a condescending air for her to be what 3 years old? Damn, how old was she exactly?

He turned back to Shiva who was watching with a smile on her face, “Why did you bring her here?”

A dark look crossed her face and he saw Talia interest piqued. “Because of her current state, she would be incredibly vulnerable to her enemies. She had left me with specific instructions to follow in case she was ever comprised. One would be to rule the League until such a time for her to reclaim the title. And secondly depending on the situation, to leave her in the hands of someone capable to protect her efficiently. Next to me, you are at the top of her list.”

Jason barked out a laugh, “Me? Talia trusts me to watch her as a kid? She does remember how bad my own childhood was? I’m a shitty person to choose. Go give her to the Bat over something. He’d love another child to suit up for his war even if it is his baby mama and ex-fiancé.”

“Lady Talia has him listed as her number one enemy. I’d be going against her trust and her orders by taking her to him. And neither of us would have him corrupt her the way he did either of our children.”

She moved closer and pushed the diaper bag into his chest, “You have your orders from the Demon’s Head and proxy as the Demon’s Head.” Shiva turned to Talia who was watching the proceedings go down with an uninterested scowl. “ _Mistress Talia, I shall take my leave now though I have not left you unprotected. You will be in the care of a great warrior, the Red Hood. The Last Living Member of the All Caste and Heir to the Demon.”_

Jason’s jaw dropped, “Heir to the what? Since when have I been the Heir to the Demon’s Head? I thought that was brat’s title!”

Shiva seemingly ignored him until she received a sharp nod from Talia which she took as her cue for dismissal. “It was your mother’s declaration of you being her chosen heir that lead to the attack. Nyssa wouldn’t have bothered if she hadn’t chosen you.”

Jason glanced back at Talia who seemed to be sizing him up when he turned to look back at Shiva… she was gone. _Goddamn ninjas._

“Alright, T. Let’s try to make the most of this.”

By the look on her face, Jason was regretting crawling out of his grave.

\--

Jason had always wondered if the brat’s attitude was because of how he was raised. Someone raised as a prince to one day rule the world with a larger than life superiority complex.

Now he’s realizing that it had to be hereditary. If Damian was the demon brat, then Talia was the devil. There was no such thing as peace with her. She wanted to explore everything in his house. And he was so glad to have chosen one of his better safehouses. One of the ones where it didn’t seem like he spent his nights shooting scum and running across rooftops.

Talia started her day off by launching herself off the counter and nearly giving Jason a heart attack. She completed her jump expertly though and landed soundlessly. Still didn’t stop Jason from feeling like he was about to die… again.

What the fuck did he get himself into?

\--

In hindsight strolling up to the Manor with a squirming ninja baby strapped and duck taped down wasn’t one of his finest ideas. But seriously, if Ra Al Ghul was still alive, Jason would shoot the fucker in the head. He seriously taught escape techniques to a toddler? Wasn’t this the age parents tried to get the little leashes and things in hopes of keeping the still? The little devil also had a nice piece of duct tape over her mouth but that was besides the point. _(At least his hand had finally stopped bleeding. What the fuck does she floss with? Her swords?)_

Alfred had looked nearly faint when he opened the door to see Jason with a baby. And he immediately got the wrong idea when he thought that Talia was his child. If it weren’t for the duct tape, he’s pretty sure that Talia would let him know exactly how she felt about that theory.

“No, Alf. She’s not mine,” he started as he pushed the stroller through the door. He dutifully ignored the disapproving expression on the old man’s face. “Where’s B and the others?”

“Where they always are, sir,” Alfred replies dryly. “And Master Richard wonders why he’s losing his tan.”

Jason chuckled, but still went to one of the entrances of the Batcave. The one with the elevator. Alfred follows him trying to maintain his British stoicism but couldn’t quite damper his curiosity. All the present Bats turned to look at the elevator jaws dropping at the sight of Jason and the baby.

“Little Wing,” Dick croaked. “You have a kid?”

You know what? Fuck this.

“This is Talia. She got de-aged.”

Damian and Bruce froze. Both turned to the little girl who glared heatedly at them. Jason bent down and remove the tape gently from her mouth. _“Talia, this is Batman and his partners.”_

The little girl sniffed disdainfully, and one Arabic word came tumbling out of her mouth, “ _Unworthy_.”

The look on their faces were worth the bloody hand he had received earlier. “Todd, I demand you tell me what happened to my mother!”

Jason ignored the brat and turned back to the actual devil. He looked her in the eyes, _“Alright, T, I’m going to untie you now. You be good, and I’ll get you some more of chocolate covered strawberries.”_

Talia pursed her lips in consideration before she nodded seriously. He made the mental note to go buy some more strawberries.

“Do you know what happened,” Jason heard Tim ask in the background. Jason shook his head, “Nah, Sandra dropped her off saying there was an attack at the compound after she named the heir to the league.”

Jason placed Talia on his hip and turned to look at the others. Each of them wore a calculating expression on their faces that he didn’t like not one bit. Well except for Damian who just seemed uncomfortable with the sight of his regressed mother and Dick who was trying to wrap his head around the fact that Jason was on first named basis with an assassin.

“Isn’t it supposed to be Damian? Why would she name him the heir when everyone already knows?” Barbara commented from the video screen on the Bat computer, and Jason could only shake his head. He felt a small hand on his face and he opened his eyes to look at the mini version of his mother figure. Fuck, even as a baby, she looked dangerously worried about him.

“The brat was supposed to be Ra’s heir… not Talia’s,” he commented. He didn’t need them knowing that he was the heir. He still couldn’t believe it.

“Well who’s the new heir,” the replacement inquired needing to know the details. Jason scowled, “That’s not important. What is important is that my mom is now a child and her psycho sister is trying to kill her!”

“Since when is Talia your mom,” various voices demanded, and a part of Jason felt satisfaction at the way Bruce twitched when he announced his association to the now little devil beside him.

“That’s what you got out of that,” Jason scoffed in disbelief. “You all think I’m fucked up in the head.”


	2. |two|

Jason stared down at the girl bowing before him. She was a foot and some inches shorter than him standing at a solid five feet. Her once milk chocolate colored hair was fanning around her face, but he didn’t concentrate on that. No, he paid attention to the white strip curling through her hair. He had no doubt that if she were to look up then her eyes would be glowing green.

“My apologies for declining to answer your messages,” she stated into the night. “I had not known that it was the Born-Again Prince that was attempting to contact me.”

“Mila,” he groaned exasperated. Jamila Al Ghul. Daughter of Nyssa Raatko and Slade Wilson after Ra Al Ghul decided to play mad scientist with his daughter’s genes. Sister to Conner Hawke/Al Ghul/Queen whichever one he was going by these days. The only friend he had made while in Talia’s care. “I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Did you honestly think that I was going to stop, dear cousin,” she questioned as she stood from her crouch. The two of them stared at each other before folding into a hug. It had been awhile since they had last seen each other. “Are the rumors true? Are you the new Heir to the Demon?”

Jason grimaced, “Yes. And before you ask, so are the rumors about Nyssa attacking Talia.”

Jamila sneered, “I always knew Mother held no honor. Despite my resentment of him, I am thoroughly grateful that Grandfather chose not to reveal my existence to either of my parents.”

Jason sighed and ran a hand across his face, “Despite everything, T is doing well and she’s safe. I need a favor from you though.”

His cousin slouched a little and crossed her arms, “The Big and Bad Red Hood needs a favor from mwah? Oh, whatever shall I be?”

“No need for the snark,” Jason crossed his own arms looking at her. Her own eyes glowed with the power of the pit behind them. He didn’t want to know how she ended up in such a predicament. He knew she could take of herself. He knew she could overcome the effects of the pit. If anything, it just made his skin crawl as recounted his own experience with the magical waters. “What I do need is for someone to be out there getting me intel. I need a link to the League so I can know Shiva’s process on helping T and if she needs any backup. I also need someone with ears on the ground for whatever it is Nyssa might be planning.”

“And pray tell, why you cannot do this yourself?”

“From what I’ve been told, I’m the reason that Nyssa attacked Talia. If I step outside of Gotham, then I’m going to have eyes on me everywhere. I need to keep a low profile.”

Jamila hummed as she looked him over. She ran a hand through her hair. “The wishing well near Ivy’s Garden. Whatever information I managed to get then that’s where I’m going to leave it.”

“Don’t you want to be the Heir instead, Mila?”

“Not a chance in Heaven or Hell,” she scoffed.

Jamila moved towards the edge of the rooftop the two of them were standing on. A slight breeze picked up and blew her hair through the air. She turned to look at him and the fierce expression on her face soften into something gentle, “Jason, do be careful. You may not be my cousin by blood, but you are the cousin of my heart. I will destroy the world thrice over if it meant that you keep some happiness.”

She fell backwards off the edge before he could give promise to her words. But he watched as she appeared a few buildings over and heading away from the streets of Gotham and he wonders if she can hear his silent pleads that she do the same.

\--

When Jason made it back to the manor, he slipped in through the window leading to his old room. A quick glance at his bed and he could see Talia still lying there sleeping peacefully. Even in her sleep, she still looked like a warrior princess.

He sighed deeply. He needs to find a way to help her get back to her rightful age asap. But… but a part of him wanted to delay it as long as it was possible. He wanted to give her the childhood she should have had instead of the one she was forced to live.

He removed his boots and armor from his body before walking into the bathroom to slip into more comfortable clothing. He checked to see if Talia was still asleep before carefully moving two of the floorboards and placing the minimum weapons, he had carried on his person back in their place. With one last check on his charge, he reestablishes the rigged security system on the window that he made. Bruce and the others were so sure that the motion detectors would catch anybody sneaking onto the premises, but Jason learned his way around those from the very first moment he put on the pixie boots. At least with his security, whoever might try to break it would lose their fingers and then their life when Jason arrived to catch them.

Talia sacrificed everything for him. It’s only right that he repays the favor.

Jason made his way out the room with one more glance at Talia before softly closing the door. When he turned around, Cass was standing there. He quirked an eyebrow. “Guard duty,” was all she said.

He nodded his head and the two of them continued down the hallway. Making their way to the kitchen where the rest of the family had gathered before Jason left to make contact with Mila. Three days had already passed with Talia being stuck as a toddler and he was no close to figuring out how to help her. They had no knowledge if it was magic, science or even technology that made her this way.

“Ah, Master Jason, welcome back. Have a seat. I’ll bring out something for you,” Alfred greeted, walking off before Jason could protest. He shook his head with a fond smile and made his way to the dining room where the rest of the family was waiting.

“I’m just saying Bruce, we shouldn’t be distributing so many resources to help that-that _woman_ after all she’s done to this family. It’ll be for the best to keep her as she is. At worst with our help, we can keep her from turning into the Talia we know today and at best, we can just ship her off to another family.”

It had been years since Jason had felt any effects from the pits. Maybe it had ignited after seeing the evidence on his cousin or maybe the anger he was feeling at Barbara’s words were strong enough to relight it. Either way, he could feel it nipping at the back of his mind... Staying there. Stagnant. It was more of a tool for him to use instead of a leash to control him.

“Look Gordon, I get you have your issues with Talia. But you don’t know jackshit about her and if you speak another word about her, then I’d happily show you exactly just how you’re not actually all that great.”

The rest of them startled not having noticed him come in, but he only had eyes for Barbara. He looked up to her. Cherished her even. She was his batgirl. But Talia was his mother and he wont stand for any ill will to her.

“Jason, what Babs was trying to say—” Dick began, but Jason rose a hand in the air. “She can speak for herself, Dick, and she made it perfectly clear how she felt. I’m making it known how _I_ feel, and I won’t stand for any slander against her. You can speak about whatever problem you have with her on your own time, but so long as she’s here… so long as I am here, then you will keep your thoughts to yourself or leave her wellbeing to me and go back to playing with your computers.”

The two held a small staring match as she tried to gauge how serious he was, and he expertly conveyed the threat in his eyes to the next person that spoke on Talia negatively. She nodded her head at him before turning away. Jason took a deep breath and mentally pushed the pit away. He had been doing good and he didn’t need a relapse.

He kept on to his seat and thank Alfred as he placed his food in front of him. He said a quick blessing over his food just like Talia had demanded of him before he slowly began to it.

“Um, Jason, what did your contact say,” he heard Timmy ask from his seat. Jason looked up to see him typing furiously on his computer with one hand and reaching for the coffee cup that Cass was carefully keeping out of his hands.

“She didn’t tell me much and I didn’t press for much. What she did say is that the rumors about who the new Heir is and how fast the information surrounding Nyssa’s attack is spreading.”

Everyone’s brow furrowed. To know that there was someone out there that might be getting ready to start the biggest war in the criminal world was frustrating. They didn’t know who they were looking for or what to expect from them.

“Well, did she at least tell you who the Heir was,” Stephanie questioned. All eyes turned to him and he narrowed his eyes at her. He took great care of what he alluded with his body language before he answered. Heaving a deep sigh and taking on a look of exasperation, he set his fork down and ran a hand through his hair.

“I already knew who the Heir was and believe me when I say they want _nothing_ to do with the title.”

Tim went back to typing on his computer, “Still it would be good know who the Heir is just in case they cause trouble later down the line.”

Jason scowled at the brat, and here he thought Timmy was his favorite. He then sent a silent prayer of forgiveness to Jamila and he swore he could her sharpening her knives and cursing at him. Jason sighed as if he was exhausted with the topic and didn’t want to let this particular amount of leverage go. “Her name’s Jamila. You’d probably find better information on her if you looked up Death Demon. It’s her code name, but she’s even more of a ghost in the underground world than the Winter Soldier from your comics, Timmers. But she is real. I met her a couple of times while training with the League. She put a knife to my throat and told me to stop killing all of her teachers before she got finished _punishing_ them.”

“Am I the only one trying to figure out why Jason seems to be on first name basis with assassins,” Dick exclaimed.

Jason snorted, “I was one _myself_ , Dickhead. I worked directly under Talia before she let my leash go and set me out on the world. Hell, in some parts, I’m still considered one. There are many places that are living in fear afraid of the Red Ronin to come back and rain down vengeance.”

“I don’t think that’s something to be proud of,” Duke muttered from his spot at the table.

Small patter of feet caught everyone’s attention and Jason looked over to the doorway to see Talia peeking in. Her features were twisted in a scowl and Jason was sure that only he and Cass could see the fear lurking in her eyes.

He rose up from his seat immediately catching her attention and then she disappeared. When he sat back down, he pushed his chair further from the table to catch the small body that landed in his lap.

“ _Hello,_ تاليا,” he muttered as he scooted back near the table. She laid her head on his chest and whispered, “Hello, Jason” in English. Jason nearly cried with joy. In the past three days alone, she had spoken in French, Spanish, German, Greece, Swahili and Chinese. Sometimes she would switch languages mid-sentence. It was nice to know that she could speak English also though he still felt like a scolded kid whenever she rose a brow at him when he stumbled from her dialect switch.

He handed her the fork in his hands and let her eat the fruit off his plate. Another thing everyone learned was that she was a vegetarian. But she had spoken to him in silence and broken words that Ra had already been training such w _eakness_ from her and forcing her to eat meat. She hates it but she won’t go against her father.

“Hi, Talia. I’m Stephanie!”

Right, despite that they had been here for three days coming and going because like hell was, he going to spend the night at the manor… Talia successfully managed to avoid everyone in the house. Everyone except Alfred and Tim that is. She had told him that watching them concentrate on their task was soothing and orderly. It reminded her of home.

She looked up at Stephanie with a blank stare before looking back at Jason. _“It’s up to you.”_

“ _Bright.”_

Jason nodded his head, “Hey, Steph. Tone it down a little.” He looked backed down at Talia who nodded her head. “Hello, Stephanie.” The girl in questioned almost squeal in delight before the rest of them started to introduce themselves.

When Damian introduced himself, Talia blinked before leaning his direction. She turned back to Jason, “ _He looks like Mother’s brother. Family?”_

Jason pretend not to notice the emotions in Damian’s eyes. He knows that the boy knows little of his Grandmother’s family. “ _He is my brother.”_

_“Potential,”_ she stated with a raised brow. “ _Worthy of Nobutora name.”_

Talia smiled lightly at Damian before she disappeared from his lap and the sound of her feet were heard back in the hall as she headed back to the room. Jason turned to look at Damian who was staring after his mother with a shocked look on his face.

“She had never told me that before.”

Jason crouched down beside him, “It doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

He ruffled the kid’s hair and gave thanks to Alfred for the dinner. He walked out of the room with everyone else wondering what Talia told Damian. “Call me if you get a lead or anything,” he called behind him.

He needed to get back to his apartment and give Talia her bath before they settled in for the night. The Bats could handle patrol for one more night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is little to no knowledge about Talia's mother. Some says she dies giving birth to Talia and others say that Ra killed her. I'm going with that she was there for Talia up until the point she died of natural causes. I placed Talia at the age of fifteen when her mother dies from sickness and as Ra doesn't think too much of her refuses her access to a Pit. 
> 
> Talia was supposedly born to a daimyo’s daughter. So I'm going to write to write her as the great-granddaughter of Takeda Nobutora who was a daimyo and his son Takeda Shingen was a pre-eminent daimyo. She would be the daughter of Kenshouin. 
> 
> So Google states Kenshouin died in 1622 which when I'm going to infer that is when Talia is born. Following my little headcannon, Kenshouin didn't die... she was kidnapped by Ra and she helped raise Talia and telling her stories of their family name. It's a part of her that Talia holds dear and does not care to share with anyone not even her son. 
> 
> She doesn't remember Damian the same way she remembers Jason. She barely remembers Jason. She only recognizes him as a worthy warrior and someone she cares about. And she knows he is the heir to the Demon as far as Talia is concerned, her Father is still the leader so she thinks that Jason is a brother that she's just now meeting. Acknowdleging that Damian looks like one of her Mother's brothers, she will assume that Damian is also her brother. She looks at him as sees potential to be worthy of her family's name because that's who she bases her worth on at the moment.


	3. |three|

Week one had come and gone since The One That is All left her sister in the False Heir’s care. One week and Nyssa has not gathered anymore news. Oh, she had people following the one called Death Demon, but it was few since the girl had taken to either torturing or straight out killing the ones following her.

She snarled in anger as her technicians picked up on her people dancing alongside the borders of Gotham. They were not welcomed there, and her dearest sister had placed elaborate traps keyed into Nyssa’s frequency. If any of them stepped a foot in that city, they would die immediately. All to protect the False Heir. The boy held no claim over the title, yet Talia just gave it away. As if it were a toy and not a title of prestige.

Nyssa will kill the imposter and then her sister. She will claim the Demon Head’s title and she will get her wonderful little boy back. He was a Prince to be raised in the highest regard. He was destined to rule the world. Not run around in spandex and tights in the slums of alley ways.

“Mistress, we’ve got a location for the Lazarus Prince.”

Nyssa spun around immediately. “Well then. It’s about time. Lead me there.”

\--

Piercing green eyes tracked the Red One (Jason, his name is Jason) around the room. He seemed agitated. Something was wrong. He had received a call from someone named Basil. He changed his clothing into something different. (A suit, he called it) He pulled up a magical screen where images of other people spoke to him.

She turned her head to look at the Silent One (Cass. She said her name was Cass). She was the only one besides Jason to speak with her without words. The girl was more fluent than she and Jason, but she made it easier to speak with.

She was also worried about Jason. He was getting incredibly angry.

“Mr. Wilson, I assure you that I know exactly what I am doing. Mother wouldn’t have left me in charge otherwise. We will move forward with these propositions just as she had planned. If there aren’t any more _concerns_ , then this call is just a waste of all our time. I will be sure to inform Mother of the undermining that is taking place inside of this board. Either do your job as you are supposed to, or I will see to it personally that you are blacklisted in every position. I will have you covered in so much red-tape that it be the only color you know.”

There had been a dark presence seeping out of him. Talia could see the Silent One tense as if waiting for a blow to strike. Talia was confused. Jason was only acting as the Demon Head’s Heir. Father was similar though his presence was more menacing than Jason’s.

“If that will be all gentlemen, I have more important things to deal with.”

He made the magical screen disappear before he took a deep breath. The darkness seemed to fade into the background. She had never seen Father do that. His presence spilled over everything and everyone. It was only because of Mother that Talia hadn’t taken some for herself. But with Jason as the Heir and his ability to control it, then there will be no need for Talia to have that. Will it?

She will take some just in case.

When Jason turned to look at her, he didn’t look like the Heir. He looked like the kindhearted brother he had been for the past few days.

“Cass, can you watch T for me? I have an errand to run. It shouldn’t take long.”

Talia didn’t want to be separated from Jason especially not in what he stakes as their safe place. She trusted the Silent One’s skill only when they were at the castle, but this she and Jason’s _home_.

She will bring forth the dangers of underestimating the daughter of the demon.

\--

Jason raced across the rooftop. It had been a week since Jamila left and he heard rumors that the Death Demon had been spotted countless times in Gotham. Though they really couldn’t be counted as rumors considering that she tended to take selfies with her victims that she chased to Gotham or the working girls she took to protecting while she was there.

Not to mention the weird frenemy relationship she had going with Harley. “ _She’s cool, but like her ex-boyfriend killed you and she stayed by his side. And I know all about abusive relationships, but I can’t get over it. Especially when you count in the fact that she helped as a distraction.”_

Jamila was protective like that, but that didn’t stop her from sneaking into Arkham and beheading Joker. She claimed it was on Talia’s orders but the bloodthirsty smile on her face and the bloody clothes she still wore suggested otherwise.

It didn’t take long for him to make it to Ivy’s garden. He noticed the villainess tending to some of her plants quietly. She looked up when he landed in front of her.

“Are you here for another branch of Aloe Vera? I believe I have some in the back.”

“I wasn’t here for that… at first. But I can definitely use some. But I was also so wondering if my cousin dropped off anything?”

Ivy huffed. She also had a weird relationship with Jamila. They were friends but they always argued over Jamila using the plants she gets from Ivy for poisons. She never wants anything else.

“Mm. Yes, she left an envelope. She also left with some sage. That was surprising,” the scientist replied as she stood up. Jason followed her careful to watch out for the rose petals blooming as Ivy walked.

He sat at her table while she passed him the leather and went through her aloe vera plants. She wanted to find one of the good branches.

“You know, Pam, my ma business is looking for botanist. She doesn’t care for criminal history. If you’re interested—”

Ivy turned to look at him with suspicion in her eyes. She opened her mouth to either declined or curse him before attacking. “It’s just a thought. I’ll ask my cousin to spare some time to give you more information. But you can say no. No one is going to try to force you to do something you don’t want to.”

Ivy hummed quietly before passing him a branch. “I will think on it. Do tell your cousin that I will like to her from her soon.”

Jason nodded his head and gave his thanks before leaving to head back to his deaged mother.

\--

_To the Born-Again Prince,_

_This is the first week’s update of news regarding your situation. I have successfully managed to siphon out a handful of culprits that could be possible suspects. From what I have gathered, it seems your problem is either science based or magical. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a mixture of both. This is Mother we are talking about after all._

_Speaking of the Forgotten One, she has sent her people to trail after me. I have shown them exactly why I earned the honor to bear the title of the Death Demon. She also has her mercenaries stationed on the outside of the borders of Gotham. She also has creating havoc in Bludhaven. I wouldn’t be surprise if that Blue Idiot takes off to fight them._

_Do try to keep a leash on that one. It’s a trap. She wishes to draw you all out._

_I will also like to inform you to check in on my brother. I do not know what it is exactly, but my instincts scream for me to go after him. Which is confusing… I have never met him so why do I care?_

_Furthermore, there are pictures and detailed analysis of the suspects that I have found. Look over them. I will wait one week for your answer before I move on with my own plans._

_Your darling cousin,_

_Death Demon_

\--

Jason sat on his couch going over the information that Jamila provided. At least three of them will end up at the end of this week. Not because Jason ordered it if they didn’t supply suitable information, but because Jamila took a strong offense to misogynist serial rapists and organ traffickers.

From what she could find, many of the men have had multiple contact with Nyssa over the past two months alone.

Jamila has noticed that they are all only at least an hour away from each other. It was either bad planning or a convenient trap she noted in her reports.

At least he managed to narrow down the causes. He sent off a quick email to Tim to get in contact with Zatanna. He just needed her to do a scan over Talia more than anything else.

There will be more problems than solutions if this turned out to be science based. Mainly because of the water of the Lazarus pits that flows through Talia’s bloodstream. More so when she was an adult than she is now. He will need to get a blood sample from Tiny Talia and cross reference it with the few samples he has of her adult form.

He looked up from his papers to the sound of giggling. There had been a stunned paused. When he glanced over, he saw Talia in the ballet outfit that Cass had instructed him to buy on the way back. Again, it was incredibly strange to Talia in such a way.

She would surely kill for the off-brand fabric that the tutu was made of. She only believed in the finest silks and satins. And she loved personally handcrafted material. She had stated you could tell a person’s heart and soul from the things they created personally.

She was standing there frozen as if she couldn’t believe that sound had just came out of her mouth. Jason smiled just a little before heading in their direction. He could always look over the rest of the files later.

“Well aren’t you beautiful,” he told her. She turned to stare at with the same confused and awed look on her face.

“ _Something wrong. Sound is new,”_ Jason would be worried about her speaking in broken sentences if he didn’t also know that she managed to read his Jane Austen and Charles Dickens books without stumbling.

“You were giggling. It means laughing lightly and repeatedly in an excited, nervous, or silly way. You were excited about dancing like Cass, so you giggled in your excitement. It’s not a bad thing.”

She scrunched her nose up before accepting his words. Jason picked her and gave a nod to Cass who was packing up her own things. “How about we go fix some brownies and then head over to the Manor? I’m sure Damian would be happy to spend some time with you.”

Talia perked her head up. She was fascinated to know that she had another brother besides Jason. Mother didn’t really talk about him, but she was delighted to get to know him as well.

But first, brownies. She loved watching Jason cook and tasting the food. The last time she had tried to do so when she was with Father, the cook poured hot water on her hands. Talia killed him on Father’s orders, but it was not an event she liked to repeat.

\--

Nyssa took slow and sure steps to the young man that had grown to look so much like her and her ex-husband. He was the perfect blend of them both. He was her pride and joy. He was her Prince.

He was resting comfortably in the bed that her subordinates brought him too. The horse tranquilizers were sitting on the bed beside her and she knew it would soon be time for another doze. The Lazarus waters in his blood washed away the effects much too fast for her.

She sat down on the bed beside him and ran her hand through his curls. Her precious baby boy. He would grow stronger and more perfect by her side. They will change the world to the ultimate Utopia. Her father would be proud of her.

“Soon, my son. We will reign supreme.”


	4. |four|

Jamila sat alongside the cliff as she watched the bases go up in flames. She had a taco in one hand and her favorite Zastava M76 sniper gun in her lap. Couldn’t let stranglers get away, right. She had three different men hogtied and unconscious in her truck. She had the absent thought if she should give chase to the women that escaped.

But if she caught them now, she might never know the what secret goodies they could be hiding. It doesn’t even really matter. The trackers she injected in their bloodstreams would be enough.

Jamila finished eating her taco before standing up. It would take her three days to get back to America through the underground ways, and she needed a head start.

Jamila had the absent thought to go shopping through the markets when she makes it to her first checkpoint.

Her gaze hardened as she neared her vehicle. Absolute scum. Preying on the weak and innocent. And each of them had a personal hand in compromising her dearest aunt.

She will show them what happens when one goes against the House of Al Ghul. When she’s done, they’ll be _begging_ for death. For _mercy._ And instead, she will give them to her cousin. Death Demon may be considered a monster, but no one has ended up on Red Ronin’s bad side and lived to tell the story.

Jamila may be cruel and ruthless, but Jason was untouchable. Unstoppable. She recalled being on a mission with him and their target had spent each and every day begging for reprieve until they caved.

She had been impressed. The man had been able to hold out from the various wounds her cousin left. From having one to three fingers and four toes and no longer having his left kidney or the rudimentary tonsil removal surgery… and the missing eyeballs.

And Jason walked away as the man bled out.

Mm. Yes, Ronin will give them the most suitable punishment.

\--

Jason hadn’t been surprised when he heard about how half a hidden village in the outskirts of Bavaria went up in flames during the night. Nor was he surprised when the others looked positively sick at the kill count.

Seems like Jamila was having fun.

He received a message through their unused channels that morning. She had some _gifts_ for him. Considering that they rarely used those lines, the message made it to him a few days after her sending it. She should be arriving in Gotham soon.

She would probably arrive during the cover of the lunch hour to keep from attracting unwanted attention. He wondered which safe house she would go to, or would she go to the warehouse where he secretly conducts Red Ronin business.

Either way, he needed to find a sitter for Talia. Maybe he could convince the brat to stay at home for the night. He seems to be enjoying the stories that Talia tells him about his grandmother’s family.

\--

Jamila had sat the offenders in the cells lined up at the bottom of Ronin’s warehouse. She watched them quietly. She had nothing else to do as she had already unpacked her bags and stored her weapons.

She smiled when one of them had woken. The fear that crept in his eyes was wonderful. _Good._ They will pay dearly for their crimes. Fear was one of her greatest weapons. You don’t grow up in a family like hers without knowing how to use it for your own good.

And if they fear her, she cannot wait to see how petrified they will be when Ronin gets here.

Speaking of her cousin, she looked down at her phone. Scowling as she read the message, it will be awhile before he could make it. She wished none of this had ever happened. She wished that everything could go back to normal.

Jamila stood and gazed across the room. Her facial features were unreadable as she thought about everything that had happened. It was her fault and her aunt paid the price.

Her hands clenched into fist before she spun and punched the wall beside her. She will make her mother pay and she will beg for forgiveness from her aunt. And anyone else that dared cross the Al Ghuls will see how she earned the name Death Demon.

\--

“Perhaps there was some confusion on your part regarding our last communication, allow me to provide some clarity,” was all Damian heard before the door closed to one of the spare studies. A part of him wanted to be mad that another _brother_ of his took his place as the leader of his parent’s company. But considering that he hadn’t even known that his mother _had_ her own company, he’s willing to overlook it.

Speaking of his mother, he could see her now hiding in the rafters in the hallway. She was staring at him before she smiled lightly and jumped down. He lurched forward to catch her, but she had landed soundly on her feet.

Her eyes filled with laughter and she tilted her head to the side. This version of his mother made him uncomfortable. She was much more open, and she was warm.

He could see why Jason had always seemed lighter after talking to her. Is this how she is with him when no one else could see?

“ _Spar_ ,” the sound of his native tongue drew his attention. Damian found that he missed it. His father always had this pinched expression whenever he spoke it and Grayson only knew a few words and phrases. Though Damian can acknowledge that Grayson had been taken the effort to learn more. Drake learned it, but Damian overheard him in passing that he won’t speak it unless Damian himself asks. The only other person is Todd. He sits with Damian and he wields words in an artform that Damian can paint across his canvas.

He turns his head to the small form of his mother standing before him and slowly nods. She beams at him and he slowly steps forward. She’s jumping into his arms before he’s even fully aware.

Was he like this when he was younger? So carefree and unburdened by his destiny. Did he have the opportunity to be a child before he was wielded into a tool?

Small fingers rubbed his brows and his mother’s face clouded his vision. She looked worried. Had the older version of herself ever look at him that way?

“ _Okay?”_ she asks and Damian nods again. He doesn’t trust himself to speak. He continues their path towards the Batcave. It is rare for her to even be down here. Todd had been adamant on keeping her away from here. He could see why with all the drop points hidden away. Not to mention, that it was dangerous.

Cain was down here though, and Damian knew she would be looking and seeing things where he could not. He helped her through the motions of protection before leading her through some simple stretches. Once that was done, they began.

He could easily see why his mother was considered the superior child of Ra Al Ghul and one of his Father most formidable foes. She adapted on the fly and incorporated moves into her own style like she was drinking water. She was a fast learner and soon the two of them had drew a crowd.

His mother flew and danced around the mats as if she was born to perform. As if it were in her blood to be warrior.

And that’s where Damian’s mistake came.

He always knew his mother was a difficult opponent to beat. Only idiots would see her as anything else. But to see her now in this shrunken form, he could see that even as an adult, she holds back.

Nobutora. He had down research into the name and found the great lineage he descended from. A family of warriors through and through. It sang in his mother’s blood in a way that it didn’t in his.

And while he was contemplating the family that he did not know, he was hit with a ferocious kick to his solar plexus that knocked him out the ring. The demon inside of him howled with pleasure at such a fierce opponent, but he wasn’t like that anymore, so he pushed it away into the corners of his mind.

He looked up when he heard yelling and noticed the almost fearful look on his mother’s face as Father and Grayson berated her.

He wasn’t surprise at all when the warning shot fired into the air. Todd descended the stairs dressing as in a different kind of armor. He had rolled the sleeves back on his dress shirt and his tie was loosened. He looked like an enemy no one would want to meet in a boardroom. He casually tucked the gun back into his trousers. His eyes glowed not green, but red. It was a flame that not even his alien friend’s hair could match.

They were no longer dealing with Todd.

“Step away from the kid or my next bullet is going through your throat.” He didn’t yell. He didn’t growl. The words were spoken in a matter of fact tone. Father and Grayson turned their anger onto him and yet their words held no effect.

They were no longer dealing with Hood.

“Are you okay, Demon Baby,” the words were addressed to him in the same slow drawl. Damian could do nothing but nod his head.

“Jason,” Grayson snapped and a presence that Damian hadn’t felt for years filled the room with one look.

“Shut up,” was the reply without even a glance. A glance at Cain and he could see that she recognized this force also. He watched her abort the movement of moving forward and turning his head he could see why she almost moved.

His mother was being lifted and cradled. Words were exchanged too soft for him to hear before she was being let back down to the floor. He watched as she made her way to him. “ _Sorry,”_ she told him softly.

“ _I forgive you,”_ he replied. “ _We were sparring.”_

She smiled lightly at him and held a hand out. _“Jason said you are an artist. May I see them?”_

Damian startled a little at her use of full sentences before taking her hand. He knew this was just Todd’s way of getting her away. He picked her up and placed her on his hip. His body flinched harshly at the move, but Damian ignored the pain and continued his way out.

“I thought I made it clear on how she was to be treated,” and Damian could hear the underlying threat. His mother had her head turned towards Todd’s direction as the two of them near the stairs.

“ _He reminds me of the Ronin that Father consults with.”_

Damian spared a glance back and he could see the calm and relax stature that Todd held while Father and Grayson hurled their insults and complaints at him. He shook his head as they made their way into the manor.

The Red Ronin indeed.

\--

Jason was shaking with anger as he made his way into the warehouse. He had left Talia at his apartment with Cass and Damian. He dressed in a uniform that he only pulled out on special occasions.

Walking pass the interrogations rooms and offices, he headed downstairs where he knew his cousin to be. Having Talia’s and his own funds at his disposal turned this simple warehouse into the ultimate headquarters. The floors above ground functioned as a living area. Anyone to come here would think it was another home.

And it was. It was where he and the others lived whenever there no missions (or weren’t vacationing on the Outlaw’s Island). It’s where he’s bringing Talia as soon as his makes the upper levels more kid friendly.

The second floors are for training as it’s the only place where Kori and Artemis and Biz can really let loose. Metals from Tamaran and some planet named Vegeta made up these floors and everything underneath. The floor directly under that one was dedicated to Roy’s workshop. Under Roy’s floor, there was a medical and whatever else they threw in there.

And finally, the ground and been caved in and hollowed out until it resembled what it was now. This where he handles a mixture of Red Hood and Red Ronin’s business.

He cast a glance around his surroundings before he made it down to the cells. Three of them were occupied and when he stepped into the room, all eyes snapped towards him. His cousin didn’t even spare him a second look from where she was picking at her nails with a knife.

“Cousin mine, nice of you to drop by,” she stated as she stood lightly. She made her way over to him and dropped into the traditional bow. “To what do I owe the pleasure of the Born-Again Prince?”

Gasps and a whimper floated from the cells and Jamila’s form shook with laughter. “I heard that you brought me presents.”

Jamila rose slowly and green was dancing on the edges of her pupils. “These are the men that have turned their backs on the sanctuary Mistress Talia provided. They have betrayed the Al Ghul clan and committed treason against our family name with the help of the Forgotten One.”

Her hand had flung out in their direction before she abruptly turned towards the weapons’ wall. She grabbed a syringe and an ice dagger before facing him again.

“I humbly request to initiate the punishment for their actions, my liege.”

Inwardly, Jason was crying laughing at her theatrics before he himself headed over the wall. He picked up a weapon that would have him flinching or falling into panic attack years ago. Now it only brings him discomfort. Now it was weapon no one else would expect from him.

“I think that this is something we should do together. After all, it was our family they crossed. And it has been awhile since we’ve truly worked together.”

The answering smile on his cousin’s face brought tears to the eyes of the man in the left cage. The two of them made their way over.

 _“The man in the middle is the one we shall spare. He was the leader of the operation after all,”_ Jamila muttered in Farsi.

Jason hummed in reply as he headed left, and she headed right.

“The Joker once ask me which hurts more. A or B? Forehand or Backhand?”

Their eyes bled red and green and the only sound left to be heard was the sound of screams.


	5. |five|

Jason sat back in one of the chairs as he cleaned the crowbar in his hands. His eyes tracked the movement of the man in the middle cell. The man had crying and screaming himself hoarse as he and Jamila took out his companions. It had gotten to the point where Jamila walked into the cell and forced him to silence or she’d give him a real reason to scream.

He hasn’t done anything since.

Jamila herself had hosed her body down until it was clean enough for her to venture upstairs. She had showered and now she was resting in Roy’s friend Kyle’s room. The space cop sometimes came over with Roy when he and Connor were on good terms. They descended into Roy’s workshop and more often enough Kyle was bringing back metals from Planet Vegeta to fix whatever they broke in there.

Whatever.

He needed to go check on Talia. He didn’t know how long he had been down here. Jason stood to go change when an alert went off on the computer behind him.

His computer was better in ways that Oracle’s ad Batman’s weren’t. They searched for crimes and put pieces together. His idea came from a movie. Captain America: TWS if he was sure. The algorithm was wonderful and once he told Talia about it and let her watch it herself, she stopped at nothing to find someone who could make her something similar if not better. So yes, Jason has his own Project Insight except it was filtered. Potential targets were filed away by threat level.

People were like chess and Jason found that he liked moving pieces into his corner. Almost two-thirds of the people that pop up either work for Head Industries or the League now.

If only he could convince Talia that Tony Stark was not that suitable to be her superhero crush.

(“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong Habibi… he is a man with great influence and an incomparable mind. His morals are unbreakable with knowing when to sacrifice them for necessary evils. My only complaint would be _this Marvel_ continuously writing him to be their sacrificial lamb and unorthodox villain for the sake of making Private Rogers look well. [Its Captain America, T?] Have you not watched the movie Jason? Steven Rogers was made captain to sell war bonds and disrespected a chain of order. It was for plot development that he was made into a captain. In a real world, none of his actions would have suffice. Anthony is practical and though his _jokes_ fall short, it is quite easy to see that he makes up for it. And besides, what kind of woman would I be if I didn’t appreciate his appreciation of a strong woman. He clearly sees females as the superior sex.)

Jason shook his head and paid attention to the details crossing his screen. Roy was calling. He rose a brow and answered.

The red head looked frantic. His green eyes were lit with worry and grief. “Jason! Jay, please. I need your help! Connor’s been kidnapped by the League of Shadows!”

Well fuck.

\--

Damian was brought out of his musings as his communicator went off. He spared a glance at his mother who was recreating a picture that Todd had hanging on his wall.

The person on the other end didn’t even give Damian time to speak before they began barking orders, “Get to the Batcave. The others will meet you there. I’m bringing a guest.”

Damian only spared a minute to stare at his phone before he was abruptly standing up. His mother looked up at him and was on her feet and in a defensive position before he could even blink. Damian tilted his head to the side and hummed. She was favoring her right side leaving herself vulnerable to attacks to her left and then he saw the knife in her hands (and where the hell did, she get that---Todd was going to kill him).

_“Pack a bag. We will be staying at castle for an undetermined amount of time.”_

She roamed her eyes around the room three times before nodding her head and walking away to what she showed him to be her room.

Cain walked over to him and tilted her head. She ran a hand through his hair, and she was one of the few people who could do so without risk of being stabbed. Damian sighed through his nose, “We need to leave and return to the Cave. Todd is bringing a guest.”

He could feel her nod before she was following his mother. Damian wondered just who this guest was. He hoped it to be their enemy, so that he may show them what happens when one attacks the Al Ghuls. The demon inside him cried for blood. This dastardly attack on his mother cannot stand and someone will have to pay.

Damian smiled a cruel smile. Yes, whoever Todd’s guest was will pay dearly for causing harm to his mother.

\--

All Al Ghuls knew where the Batcave was located. It wasn’t a secret. They knew where it was, how to get in there detected and undetected, hidey-holes, and how to navigate the computer without raising alarms.

Personally, Jamila never bothered with it. She was content to living her life traipsing the globe making a name for herself that would one day rival her parents.

And yet, somehow, here she was standing in the _cave_ with all the bat brats staring at her. Well standing wouldn’t be the right word. She was lounging across their debriefing table cleaning her nails with one of her knives. Her green-blue eyes tracked everyone’s movement and took note of the many exits and passageways she had been forced to learn.

And then-

Her knife fell from her hand.

Jason moved next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Jamila gave a full body shudder as she saw what her stupidity led to.

 _“Kalh,”_ the word dropping from her mouth. She was sure she would’ve sunk to the ground if Jason was not supporting her.

This miniature version of her aunt looked at with something akin to suspicion and recognition.

She drank in the similarities to the woman she knew to the child standing before her. She took deep pleasure in knowing that she looked like her aunt instead of her mother when she was an infant. It wasn’t long before the butler was whisking her away at Jason’s order.

“Who are you to claim relation to the Al Ghul line,” her other cousin demanded. Jamila turned her head to look at him and quite honestly, she found him lacking. Oh, so she can see the potential. She can see where he would’ve been great. But it’s this idiotic way of ignoring his instincts and obviously ignoring his birthright that makes him unworthy of her attention. It’s no wonder that he fell to the end of the line of succession regardless that it was only because of the death of their grandfather.

Jamila only manages to stop herself from sneering. Jason informed her of his infuriating plan. Announcing her as the heir? It was the reason they were in this mess to begin with! And he just goes and saddle her with a title she does not want! That she threw away!

She can feel Jason sigh because he just knows how she’s going to react.

And react she did.

Pulling herself to full height, Jamila looked down her nose at her younger cousin. Honestly, even Anastasia wasn’t this infuriating, and that little spoilt princess made Jamila want to travel back in time and put her knife through her egg.

“I am your superior in all that matters. I am the Demon of Death. The snake cloaked in poisons with more blood on my hands than a blood bank. I am Jamila Al Ghul-Wilson. Daughter of Nyssa Raatko and Slade Wilson. Rightful Heiress to the Demon’s Head.”

“Rightful,” the one Jason fondly calls replacement questioned. She ignored the spluttering from her youngest cousin that she was lying. As if she _wanted_ to be born to either of her parents.

Jamila tilted her head to the side, “Jason has informed me that my half-brother has been kidnapped. It is obvious that my Mother has taken him and with Mistress Talia compromised, Mother has the right to the _throne._ She doesn’t know about me, so she’d name my brother her heir.”

The blue idiot that had once thrown her cousin-heart in Arkham sneered at her, “Why should we even trust you? We might as well beat you and Nyssa and dismantle the League of Shadows. It’ll save us a lot of trouble.”

Jamila smirked, “You? Beat me? Don’t make me laugh.”

He puffed up and took a step towards her and Jamila’s smirk widen. She could feel interest piquing in her and her fist clenched ready to lay down the truths.

“I’ve beaten your father and Cass beat your mom—”

Jamila snorted, “Irrelevant. I’m a better fighter than both. Lady Shiva has said that I am better fighter than herself. So, _you_ and your _Cass_ \- “

“Mila,” Jason groaned. “Do you have to antagonize everybody?”

“It’s a part of my charm,” she shrugged. “We need a plan and we can’t really do anything until the Mistress is back to her rightful age.”

She pulled a jump drive out of her pocket and handed it to Jason. He had already read all the information on there and copied it to his own computer. Jamila smirked. She also knew he made the data unable to copied again to try would upload a virus on the device download so viscous that no data would ever be able to be added.

Her cousin looked at her with amusement in his unmasked eyes as he moved towards the Bat. Her eyes tracked the Batman’s movement and she couldn’t see what her aunt saw in him. He was so _plain_.

Jamila trailed her eyes around the room before the sound of people entering caught her attention. She glanced over at the newcomers. She quirked a brow when she saw Jason’s friends.

The clone that Jason took after like a father to a son bumbled down happily alongside the Amazon with the eye-catching thighs. Jamila was suddenly glad that she had her own mask covering her face. Those thighs looked completely delicious.

Following behind them were the alien princess that Jason also befriended. Jamila trailed her eyes down her body. Now _this_ was a woman. She didn’t understand how Jason managed to control himself with such beautiful women surrounding him. And honestly, it is no secret between the two cousins that they both have a thing for strong women.

Following behind them was the red head archer. The one Jason told her was the adopted brother of her mother’s son. And from the way the others following behind could only be his family. Her lips curled back in a snarl.

She had no use of compromised agents.

Jamila could feel a heavy stare on her, and her gaze trailed across the room until she could see Lady Shiva’s daughter staring at her. Jamila wondered what she could read through her body language before she shrugged uncaringly and made her way to Jason’s side.

 _“Remind why I exactly did I allow you drag me here with these imbeciles,”_ the Farsi language dripped off her tongue like water and she inwardly smiled. She had done her research on all of them, and she knew for a fact that none of them spoke Farsi. But she almost remembered Jason mentioning that the alien had to actually kiss people to learn new languages and well Jamila knew _a lot_ of languages.

 _“Because we have to stop your mom and we have strength in numbers,”_ Jason replied absently as he and the Bat looked over the information on the junk drive. Jamila glanced up at it and inwardly snorted. She hoped that they weren’t thinking of leading an attack going by the old structure of the compound.

_“But- “_

_“You can also use them as distractions while you proceed to beat the shit out of your mother and declare yourself the best of the Al Ghul lineage.”_

Well it was true. It was she who took down her grandfather for good after all. Though it was also nice to have facts and her mother, and her brother was the one Al Ghul she hadn’t fought. Damian hadn’t counted. He would need help to beat her just like Anastasia. She will fight them when they are older and more experienced. She scowled, _“Damn you and my competitive nature.”_

“What are the two of you talking about?”

It was the blue idiot again. She whirled around ready to continue her verbal onslaught when Jason placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Its none of your business, Dickhead.”

Jamila inwardly smirked before she turned back towards the computer. She noted the routes that they planned on taking. _“Shouldn’t we be focusing on fixing Aunt Talia instead of planning the attack?”_

_“You know Batman has to be prepared. Uh… you know he has contingency plans for his contingency plans.”_

If she didn’t stop now, she was sure her face would be stuck in a permanent scowl. “ _In other words, he’d rather be an idiot and focus on the problem that Connor has been kidnapped instead of the obvious connection that this is just a ploy.”_

_“Well when you put it that way… Ouch!”_

Jason rubbed the back of his head from where she had slapped it and the two of them stood glaring at each other. His eyes to her mask. She sighed deeply and it felt as if a weight had gathered on her shoulders.

“ _We need the Mistress to be back to her right age. It’s imperative- “_

“Okay enough of this! How can you expect us to work together when we don’t even know what you’re saying!”

She was going to shove that escrima stick so far up his ass.

“Jamila knows what’s at stake and I trust her to have our back.”

“You might trust her, but I don’t,” he exclaimed. His fist clenched and his gaze darkened with every glance he spared the cousins. Jamila was struck with a sudden realization and she laughed aloud.

“By the demon, he’s jealous!”

Honestly, she couldn’t stop her shaking shoulders if she tried. It was just hilarious.

“What,” Jason’s words were followed by an almost immediate denial of, “No I am not,” from the Dickhead?

“Hate to say it ‘Wing, but you totally are,” the blonde and purple one stated. “You’ve been in this weird state of confusion and jealousy since everything started. You’re almost bad as B.”

Jamila perked with interest before turning to look at Batman. He was jealous?

“This family is fucking weird,” Jason grumbled before pointedly turning away. “Can we focus on the mission now? I think we’ve got a good plan to rescue to Connor.”

They all moved to crowd around the screen even Jason’s friends and the Arrows. Jamila stiffened and quickly moved away. She knew none of them well enough for them to be so close in her personal space.

She sniffed disdainfully from her reclaimed spot on their debriefing table returned to cleaning her nails. She paid little attention to the plan they were going over and honestly, it was a shit plan. Going in through the cover of night? Cliché. Taking down the systems? Predictable and inclined to fail by the five multilayered and encrypted security systems. Hit them before they see you takedown? Unlikely to work with the patrol.

“It won’t work.”

It was as if the world stopped. She rose a brow in challenge.

“What?” Roy asked with such heartbreak on his face that she might have felt guilty. But she didn’t know him. Didn’t care for him. Didn’t care about him. So no, she didn’t feel guilty.

“It will not work,” she shrugged. “The compound has changed for one. These plans you are looking at come from Construction 855b. It hasn’t looked like that for six months now. I should know. I was there when the changes began.”

“You didn’t think to let us know before we started planning,” the Dickhead growled. Jamila sighed deeply.

“I do not like you and it is only out of respect for my cousins that I have not beheaded you.”

She took little notice of how the yellow bat took a cautious step away from her and closer to Lady Shiva’s daughter.

“Mila,” Jason groaned and pressed his hands into his face. She shrugged.

“I have already stated that we cannot do anything until Mistress Talia is back to her rightful age.”

“I’m sorry, but who are you again?” She switched her gaze to the person that had spoken. The Green Arrow. Her mother’s second husband.

She smiled sweetly, “I am Jamila. Jason’s cousin.”

The alien flew close to her and Jamila deserve a reward for not stabbing her in the eye. “Ahh, you are cousin in the picture on Jason’s nightstand. It is nice to finally meet you. I am Koriand'r.”

A small smile pulled at her lips. It was not fond. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

But the peacefulness couldn’t last long because the Blue Idiot was back, and he brought a _friend_. The girl glared at her suspiciously and Jamila stared back blankly. “You’re hiding something,” she accused.

“I am hiding a lot of things,” Jamila stated. “‘Tis not a crime. And it is none of your business.”

“Its my business if it leads to any of them getting hurt,” she shot back, and Jamila smiled sharply. The Blue Idiot narrowed his eyes at her before moving to once again complain to Jason. _Idiot._ “And as I have just stated, it isn’t any of your business.”

“I don’t trust you,” she sneered. And Jamila laughed again, “The feeling is quite mutual.”

The girl searched her features before sighing, “Look- “

“No, you look… I care for none of you. I do not like any of you and if you died, I would not shed a tear. The only people on this property that are worth my attention are Jason, Damian, and my aunt. I am only here out of loyalty to them. You all want to rescue Connor and I do not blame you for that but getting my aunt back to her rightful age is the only way. And I care not for your opinion. It hasn’t been worth anything ever since the words ‘ _You’ll never be Dick Grayson_ ’ tumbled out your mouth. Do not think that I do not know who you are Barbara Gordon. Because I do and I do not care.”

“Why is getting Talia back so important to you,” the blonde asked as she walked over. If she had been trying to be intimidating, then she needed work.

“She is my aunt.”

The blonde (Stephanie, her mind supplied) looked at her in frustration, “Well yeah, I get that. But why is it more important than saving Connor? I mean she’ll still be here if we go after him first.”

Jamila rolled her eyes at the ignorance being presented in front of her. She cast a glance around the room and notice how they seemed to have garnered everyone’s attention, “Look you guys don’t trust me. I get that. Jaycee’s word isn’t enough. But Talia is _my_ aunt and the only person standing in this room besides me and Jason that she cares for is Damian. You don’t want to help her? That’s cool. That’s fine. But if you so much as think you’re going to stop me… ME… from helping her? I will kill all you right now and fix her myself.”

She laughed at the way they all tensed defensively. She rose a brow watching how the archers’ fingers flexed as they controlled themselves. Batman attempted to stare her down, “We don’t have the time to spare- “

“Make it,” she cut him off. “The Mistress is way more important than my brother right now.”

“Brother,” the Green Arrow choked. She sneered, “You are so _not_ my father.”

She turned back towards the back, “Mother will do nothing to Connor now that she has him, but she does want Talia. She will stop at nothing to get her. Right now, she’s protected. None of Nyssa’s operatives can enter Gotham without facing death.”

“We’re not- “

“Tawaquf,” she stated and watched as all the Bats and Jason freeze up. Weapons were pointed at her and she flipped out of the way as the alien princess and amazon headed for her. “I apologize for the distress Jason, but I do not have the patience to play these games with them.”

“Undo whatever it that you have done, and I will not kill you quickly,” the Amazon snarled. Jamila smiled in challenge. Now that would be a good fight. She turned her head in interest ready to apply pressure. She could feel something awakening in her as its power seeped through her pores. It coated the room before wrapping around her in a cocoon.

“I will like to see you try,” she teased. She could see the way Shiva’s daughter attempted flinched away. She could see how Jason and Damian both wanted to move forward and embrace her.

“The Lazarus Demon,” she heard. Her gaze flittered over towards the Green Arrow and Black Canary. She saw the way the Amazon flinched away. “You recognize my friend? How?”

Then she shook her head, “Never mind. That is irrelevant. The code word I used was a trigger into an automated system that my grandfather had injected into the blood of all operatives of the Bat including you, cousin mine. You might not remember but the Mistress has used it on you plenty because of your past with the pits.”

Jamila moved towards the Bat computer and began to search. Jason had told her that the Bat had most of the things needed for the scientific part of the cure. It was the magical part that will be a problem. But like her cousin, she’s had some fun traveling through the multiverse and she met people.

She turned towards the others in the room. The Outlaws and the Arrows. “I will help you that I promise, but Mother will be prepared for retaliation. By kidnapping Connor, she knows that you all will follow. This can either go two ways. She will believe that Jason will follow you out of loyalty and thus leave Mistress Talia vulnerable. She may cannot get any of her operatives in here but that doesn’t mean she cannot pay someone else to.”

“Pay,” Roy cut in. His eyes widened, “Deathstroke?”

“Yes, the League has been a longtime customer to Mr. Wilson. Stealing the daughter of the demon will be child’s play to him. While she might expect you all, she might not expect Batman and his brood. She will think that Jason somehow managed to convince you all to stay back and guard the Mistress. The other part is that she does expect Batman. The compound has undergone construction made to slow you all down. She will employ these added additions.”

The Black Canary nodded her head as she cautiously moved closer. Jamila’s gaze turned to her and she could Lazarus turn its attention on her. “It makes sense. We all have a connection to Connor and using him can be a distraction for her to get Talia and for her to do whatever it is that she wants to Connor simultaneously.”

Jamila nodded, “You will need someone who knows the compound as it is now, and I only know half of it. I do not know all of it and I rather not run in blind. And these new additions are meant to stall. Any second waiting is a second we cannot afford.”

“Call up your magical contacts. I need someone to bless this bottle and bridge a contact with—” Jamila inwardly winced and her hand automatically raised to cover her now bleeding nose. She ground her teeth together, “Bridge contact with the ancient goddess Manat.” Another hand rose to her ear and she inwardly growled at Lazarus. She didn’t even worship Manat.

“Are you okay,” the Green Arrow questioned with concern on his face. _Fatherly concern_ at that. Jamila never had a father and the only mother figure she had was her aunt.

“Just peachy,” she growled. She could feel a heavy stare on the side of her head, and she turned to see her cousins looking at her. “ _Harar,”_ and then regained control of their bodies again. A pity that she will not be able to use it again and a blessing that Mother would not be able to use it at all _._ “Let’s just get this over with.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like I'm rushing everything but then I realized its probably because I threw some stuff out of my rough drafts and outline
> 
> Harar - release  
> Tawaquf - stop  
> Kalh - aunt


	6. |six|

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> three updates in one month? I'm on a roll.

_Talia had been surprised when her niece slipped into her office. She had smirked pleased with herself before opening the door and mocking the guards on the other side._

_“You’re totally fired, you know? What if I had been an enemy? You would’ve been none the wiser and the Mistress would’ve been in danger.”_

_Not really, Talia did not get to where she was in life by being incompetent. Though that did not mean she did not see the wisdom in her nieces words._

_“Jamila,” was all she had to say before her niece pulled back. She could feel the demon within laugh at the guard’s fear. She turned her attention to the two at the door, “Switch out with guard team Z23 and report back to the training grounds.”_

_After all, she wasn’t going to lose two perfectly capable assassins and extra training never hurt anyone. Jamila watched them walk away and her head tilted to the side as she listened to them repeat their given orders. Talia watched as Jamila calmly closed the door before moving towards the tea set._

_She hummed silently to herself before signing off on the last report in front of her. She turned her full attention to her niece, because the gods of the old knew that Jamila only drunk tea when she had big news to share._

_Talia accepted the tea quietly and watched as Jamila made herself comfortable. Her niece stared absently at one of the old drawings her father had hung up. For all that he was a monster, there had been a small part (as small as proton in an atom) that loved his grandchildren._

_Jamila seemed to shake herself off before relaxing in the chair, “Mm, I see that you are renovating the compound.”_

_Talia quirked a brow before taking a sip of her tea, “Yes, I’ve gotten recommendations from our newest guests. They’ve agreed to help tighten up our security while we set them up in a nearby village.”_

_“Oh,” she perked up. “Have they chosen a name?”_

_Talia absently tapped her finger across the ceramic mug in her hands as she thought about the large group of people that had just suddenly appeared in the middle of the compound a few months ago. They had been good. Wonderful, and her people had been overwhelmed quickly. But Talia, Sandra, Anastasia, and Jamila wouldn’t be taking down so easily. They had learned quickly to not look in any of their eyes and she remembered the loud, creative threats that escaped Jamila’s mouth when one of their fireballs edged to close to her hair._

_Talia and Anastasia quickly took on the leaders of the strange group whereas Sandra seemed to glow as she went against the one who could read her moves as good as she could read his. But it was Jamila who seemed to dance with delight with the boy who smiled every time one of their hits connected._

_Talia had known from that one meeting that the two of them would cause problems. It had become even more apparent when she saw the jealously raising in the boy’s eyes when Jamila had been sneaking some of the girls from their group off to her bedchambers._

_“Konohagkure,” she informed her niece. She watched the information pass quickly through her mind before she titled her head._

_“Guess we’ll be seeing a lot of trees then,” she smirked. “It’s the only way that name is going to work.”_

_Talia inclined her head and watched her niece impassively as she fidgeted. “Tete Lia,” the girl whispered as she brought her knees up to her chest. Her eyes trailed over to the portrait that Talia had commissioned. A vision of what she had once hoped her family could look like. Her mother and father standing behind her proudly as Nyssa and Dusan stood at her sides. Jamila and Jason stood in front of them with their arms wrapped around Damian and Anastasia._

_“Tete Lia,” she started again. “Why am I to be the Demon’s Head heiress?”_

_Talia inwardly startled. She had not had this conversation with her since Damian lost his right to it. “In terms of power and skill, you are the next liable choice. You have been raised within the compound and know the rules and laws of the Demon better than anyone else.”_

_Jamila only shook her head, “We both know that in terms of power and skill Jason is stronger and better than me. And besides, I committed treason when I killed grandfather.”_

_Talia took another sip of her tea, “While that may be true, only you and I know that you killed him. And do not put yourself down child, I have had a hand in training you myself. Your skilled is unrivaled and do not think I haven’t noticed you training with our newest guests.”_

_Or maybe one person in specific._

_Jamila didn’t blush. She was too refined for that, but Talia knew her niece well and she saw the after effects in her eyes._

_“I can’t be the heiress,” she mumbled as she ran her finger across the rim of her mug. Talia hummed._

_“And why not?”_

_“I can’t be the heiress because I-… Because- “_

_She watched as Jamila took a deep breath before looking her in the eyes. She set her shoulders and placed her feet back on the ground. She looked ever much like an Heiress despite her current efforts to throw away the title._

_“I cannot and will not be the Heiress to the title because…”_

_\--_

_It wasn’t often that Talia thought about that night. She had listened with rapt attention to her niece’s argument. She listened quietly as she was given all the details that she needed before she gave in and removed her status as the heir._

_Talia was in her office again going through her company’s papers. She decided that her newest guests had knowledge that would benefit her company greatly. Even now, with only a few of them joining in for the medical research, the company’s profit had skyrocketed._

_She signed off on a few more papers before there was a knock on her door. She looked up as one of the guards opened the door with a bow, “Mistress, the Lady Shiva requests a visit.”_

_Talia waved her hand at her, “Let her in. In thirty minutes, I want you to switch with guard team I55 and continue helping the renovations.”_

_The guard bowed again before stepping to the side and letting in one of her dearest friends. Once the door closed, Sandra rose a brow at her before moving over to her alcohol cabinet._

_“Sandra, it is eleven o’clock on a Wednesday morning. Why are you drinking?”_

_The One That is All only laughed lightly at her as she poured herself a drink, “Someone, somewhere, has just got married, and I am celebrating.” `_

_It took many years of practice to keep the amusement out of her face. She laughed lightly but accepted the drink that was handed to her. “Have you received any news about Jamila’s condition?”_

_Sandra sip at her drink, “Your little pet project found a way to combine their knowledge with our machines. They’ve managed to slow it down to the point that nothing looks out of order. And she’s threatened to rip their hearts out and eat it alongside her shokoladnaya-kartoshkas if they speak about it with anyone that doesn’t have her approval.”_

_Talia sighed heavily, “She won’t be able to keep it a secret long. She will eventually grow to weak to even move out her bed.”_

_Sandra huffed, “She is too stubborn for her own good, but I have heard rumors that she has been in an underground competition making a name for herself. She is close to winning the competition and has billions of dollars betted on her every night. I doubt she wants to give up when she’s so close to her goal. Not to mention, her determination to bring back things of interest for your guests.”_

_Talia hummed, “It will not be long before she manages to slip some of them off into the night with her and show them the world. I will not fault her when she does. I just wish she took more precautions as she deteriorates even further.”_

_Sandra agreed absently before turning her attention back to her fellow assassin. “Have you decided on who to make the newest heir?”_

_Talia paused before downing the alcohol and letting it burn through her throat. “Yes, the only question is how am I going to get them to accept it?”_

_Sandra nodded, “Its better to ask for forgiveness than permission in some cases. Spring it on them when they least expect it and watch them flail as they try to ignore their fate.”_

_Talia smirked, “Speaking from experience, I presume.” Sandra laughed lightly before nodding her head, “Though at the rate Cassandra is going, I might have to convince Weasel to be the one to give me peace.”_

_“Mm. I would have thought that you preferred Jamila’s, well friend is too nice of a word, but her friend to take you out.”_

_Sandra snorted, “I asked him would he. Questioned if he had the skill. He looked me in the eyes without that damn red glint and told me that killing me would only make Jamila kill him. He’s determined to have her fall in love with him though.”_

_“If only he knew that she already was… though I can understand his confusion. Jamila has been taken to be with more females lately.”_

_Sandra nodded her head, “I guess I can understand the appeal. A woman’s touch is better than a man’s any day. And her conditions continue on, she’d want all the comfort she can get.”_

_“That does sound like her. I wonder how she plans to tell Jason. The two of them are rather close.”_

_“Probably the same way she told him that she was the heir.”_

_The two women laughed lightly, “By not telling him at all.”_

_Sandra tapped her finger against the glass in her hand, “Jason would do good as the Heir. He might bring some joy back to the League and I may rejoin again under the new direction he would surely take it.”_

_“He is my main choice, but I didn’t want to make any decisions until I received word about my nephew’s progress. Just because Nyssa has been exiled from the League doesn’t make him not a worthy contender.”_

_“So, it is out the two of them?”_

_Talia nodded her head surely, “Yes, we will see who proves the better choice.”_

_\--_

_Talia stood before the various clans that made up the League. They all watch her with attentive eyes, and she sees the council sit in front of her with pride. It was time for her to announce her heir and they knew she wouldn’t make this choice without careful consideration. They had all been distraught when they learned that Jamila hadn’t wanted the title but with a small overview of her condition and all that would happen surrounding it… they made peace._

_She stepped into the ring of truth and watched impassively as one of her guards lit the flames._

_“I stand before you all today as the Demon Head… as Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra Al Ghul.”_

_The flames burned green at the truth of her words._

_“A year ago, I stood before you all and announced that the Beautiful One… our Hope was to be the Demon Head’s Heiress. I stand before you now to tell you that it was no longer true.”_

_The green in the flames held steady._

_“Today, I name a new heir. One that has proven themselves to our organization time and time again. They are a strong warrior whose loyalty is a jewel to be cherished.”_

_The flames tint blue with the pride in her voice._

_“Hear the call of the ancestors. Of all the points of contact. Calling on all the strength from the Al Ghul Line. I hereby claim my son, Jason Peter Todd-Al Ghul as my heir.”_

_Green for truth. Blue for pride. Red for the blood connection._

_Cheers erupt from the warriors surrounding her. Talia is smiling as she looked upon them._

_An arrow whistles through the air and impales itself in front of her. The fire is immediately put out and everyone is at edge. Some of her guards immediately break away heading in the direction that the arrow came from while the others direct the children and those with child to the safe rooms._

_Talia is following them, and she absently notes when Sandra and Ubu fall in line beside her. Swords appear in their hands. Sandra passes her a spare_ _Tantō and Ubu passes her a gun._

_They follow the sound of fighting and immediately join in once it becomes clear just who their enemies were. Her sister’s guards and mercenaries that were exiled alongside her. Ubu and Sandra cut a clean escape for her towards the center where her sister’s stands enjoying the chaos._

_“Nyssa,” she nearly growls. “What is the meaning of this?”_

_She sees the rage that overtakes her sister and the two of them clash right in the middle. She is thankful for the lessons she has taken with the people of Konohagkure. It makes her fighting style unpredictable and she’s quickly pushing her sister back._

_“You spit on the name of our father. How dare you throw his beliefs for such false love? That boy is not an Al Ghul. He is a False Heir no matter what you proclaim.”_

_Talia snarls in anger and she can feel Lazarus breaking free from her control. The world tinges green and now she fights with the intent to kill. “You will not speak of my son in such a manner. Throw away Father’s belief? Impossible. You’re still exiled, aren’t you?”’_

_She watches with a sharp smile as her sister lets go of her own inner demon and tries to kill her. She knows that she will not succeed. She will not catch Talia off guard. Not this time. She was not weak._

_The two of them continue their fight when Nyssa steps back suddenly as one of her underlings enters Talia’s peripheral. She shoots him dead before focusing back on Nyssa._

_It had to be the thought of the vengeance being the only reason she didn’t notice the kunai being thrown at her. It plunges itself in her shoulder and she viscously yank it out before continuing towards her sister._

_But strangely, Nyssa isn’t trying to fight her anymore._

_Something was wrong._

_“Fall back,” she says, and her voice sounds wrong. Nyssa is coming towards her. A smoke bomb is thrown between the two of them and suddenly Ubu and Sandra are carrying her away._

_She blinks and the world seems larger._

_She blinks and she doesn’t know what’s going on._

_She blinks and she slips into sleep._

_And when her eyes open, she stares at a man with jewel like eyes and a patch in his head like Father’s._

_She is told that he is the Demon Head’s Heir._

_He is her brother._

_He is Jason._

_\--_

_Talia is a child and she’s watching as the girl with the white strip in her hair seems to command the room. She had watched as the girl relied heavily on Jason and rarely left his side. She wondered if she was his lover._

_But that wouldn’t make sense. Why would the girl claim to be her niece if she was her brother’s lover?_

_The girl was strange, and she was hiding something. Talia could tell just from the way the girl twitch with every move. She watches how the girl looked down on Damian, but there had been a twinkle in her eye._

_The Grandfather had taken her from the room earlier but that didn’t stop her from coming back and peeking. Her interest had reached a all time high when more people entered the room._

_Talia saw how the girl seemed to stiffen before casually moving away and out of reach. A part of her seemed to scream for Jason but a larger part of her seemed to wear a mask even her father couldn’t pierce._

_Talia watches how the new people seemed to move and create a shield around Jason. She wonders if they are Jason’s guards. She wanted to know where they had been. Jason was the Heir! His guards were to be with him at all times in case of an attack._

_It’s the smell of baked goods that draws her attention away from them. She turns and leaves and makes her way back to the Grandfather._

_He smiles gently at her and hands her a baked biscuit with chocolate inside of it. She had never tasted such treats before being brought into Jason’s care. She wonders if Father would be mad with the way she is being treated when he comes back for her._

_She didn’t think she wanted to leave._

_\--_

_Her eyes blink open afterwards and she takes notice of the cloth covering her body. She had fallen asleep in front of the magical screen with all the different colors._

_Talia sits up slowly and she notices that she had been brought back down in the big room. Jason called it the cave. It had been a week since the first night all the new people had showed up._

_Jason had taken her to a new place to reside in. His guard squad was always there alongside Jason’s lover? The two females who hair was as bright as the flames in the night took to sparring with her. They laughed and cheered her own and whenever she messed up a move, they talked her through it instead of slapping her down._

_His other friend with eyes the same color as hers and with hair as fiery as the women gifts her with a bow and arrow. He is good but she is better. She can sense an inner turmoil in him. A grief that wraps around and seems to suffocate his whole being. She tends to cuddle into his side, and he tells her stories of his adventures with Jason._

_The big one with the letter on his chest tends to watch the magical screen with her. He brings out needles and Talia wonders if this will be the day, he stabs her. Instead he begins to weave colorful cloths and clothing and teaches her when he catches her looking._

_Jason’s lover keeps her distance, but she doesn’t let Talia out her sight. She had a darkness to her too that spilled out whenever Damian’s guards got to close to her. Talia thinks she says the one named Grayson is a Blue Idiot? Her dagger is always out when he or the redhead in moving throne near her._

_Talia moves from her spot and heads in the direction that she can hear Jason in. He brought another friend. His clothes were covered in colors and he had a glowing ring on his hand. She wonders if he somehow managed to trap the waters of her father’s pit into it._

_There was another there. He was short and his voice was rough but sounded as alluring as her father’s. She wondered what he was there for._

_She wrapped her arms around Jason’s legs, and he paused. He looked at her before they all continued to talk. She tuned them out though as sleep still clung to her mind._

_She’s being moved from Jason to someone else and her eyes open to see that the Blue Idiot is holding her. Well he is holding her as if she was a poison sword that would kill her with one move. A breeze enters the room and she gasp as she feels a pain attack her._

_Her eyes water as it gets stronger before the Blue Idiot is carrying her away. The further she goes the less pain she feels but it’s still there and its hurts._

_Makeitsstop. Makeitsstop. Makeitsstop. Makeitsstop. Makeitsstop._

_He lays her down as the pain begins to recede and the breeze begins to go away. It doesn’t take long for Jason’s lover to appear. She has blood trailing from her eyes and mouth, but she sees snarling at the Blue Idiot. He scowls back at her, but he doesn’t say anything as she moves closer. She wipes at her face before grabbing another piece of cloth and wiping at Talia’s face. She startles as the cloth comes back red and her hand reaches for her own face._

_Jason’s lover smiles sadly at her before covering her and stepping away. A green tint takes over the area surrounding Talia and she’s confused._

_Something is thrown near her and there is something in the air that makes her head hurts again. She takes a deep breath to push through the pain._

_Talia feels something happening. She doesn’t know what._

_And then—_

_She screams._

_\--_

It had felt like coming from a dream. Then again, she had felt like she had been drugged and Talia was slightly pissed. It took a lot to drug her as the pit waters in her blood tended to wash it away.

She opened her eyes to green surrounding her and she paused to wonder if she had died. Talia hasn’t been in the pit for years. Not since she lowered Jason into anyway. She pushes her body up slowly and that’s when she notices the cover that covers her body.

Hm. Whoever had taken her robbed her of her clothing. She will kill them all. No one has the privilege to see her bare skin unless she allows them to. And she did not allow this.

Her eyes take stock of where she is, but she can only see green. She felt caged in a way not unlike her father had her. Her eyes narrow with rage and she feels the beast within in her scream for freedom.

She hears feet entering the room where she’s been held captive. Her eyes narrow when she hears someone laugh awkwardly before the green fades from around her. Her eyes slowly adjust to the now darken area. She feels the slight chill on her skin before a blur ram into her.

“Kalh,” she hears, and her hands freeze from where they had been ready to land a deadly blow. Talia pulls the body away from her slowly and she takes in the sight of her niece. She sees someone move closer and her heart stutters at the sight of her oldest son.

“T,” and he says it like a prayer. There were tears in their eyes and Talia closes her own briefly. Her mind pulses as new memories slot themselves in place. Pieces of her childhood that had not been there before overlapping the horror that she could remember.

Her voice was rough from the lack of use, “My loves.” She watches as they let their tears spill and her soul sings. Lazarus purrs with content. They clutch her as if she were their lifeline and that’s when she hears a small voice coming from behind them.

“Mother.”

And her heart stops. She can hear the heart monitor begin to beep erratically but her senses… her sense of being is only focused on her child. Her son. Her heart. “Damian,” and his name sound like blessings of the gods of the old. He steps forward hesitantly, and she takes no notice of her bruised muscles or the way Jason and Jamila help her sit up more. She reaches her hand out and wonders if he would turn away from her now. Would he turn his back on her when she was at her lowest?

He doesn’t. He places his hand in hers and she can her a past version of herself crying and screaming in rage. He was too young for his hands to be so callous. Her baby boy. She had done so wrong by him.

He climbs onto the bed and he pauses as he stares at her. It was too her shock that sob escapes him and he’s throwing himself into her embrace.

She hugs him tightly and vows to not let go. The Precious One loved her children dearly and had taken to becoming the Mother of the young ones in the compound.

She unfurls on her arms from around Damian and she reaches for her older son. He falls into her embrace easily. She angles her body into something more welcoming and Jamila instantly presses against her. She places a kiss in the girl’s hair.

“I love you all. I love you.”

And nothing had ever tasted so purer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brief mention of Naruto characters mainly the Uchiha clan. they wont make a prominent appearance. they are just there for plot bunnies and background details and I've been on a Naruto fanfiction binge xD
> 
> i was thinking about doing a crossover where Jamila ends up in the naruto universe decides she doesn’t like how Naruto was being treated and sets out to change it and with the mystery surrounding her... there doesnt end up being a massacre and well a lot of things change and somehow at 16 (she’s technically 19) she’s a foster mom to the village’s outcast and a badass ninja that doesnt even use chakra


	7. |seven|

Batman was compromised. He could feel the emotions of Bruce seeping into him and he didn’t like it. And like most things, the problem stemmed from Talia. The Arabian princess was currently resting in Jason’s old room as she recovered from aging overnight. She took her “niece” with her.

He was already piling a file together on the young heiress. There was no telling what she would do, and he didn’t know much about her. He observed as much as he could, but she seemed to watch him more than he watched her.

It was unnerving.

It was as if she was playing some game with him and his children. And that code word she used on him. He will need to find this “system” she spoke of and neutralize it. He couldn’t afford for any of his enemies to use it against him.

He turned his gaze back to his computer and watched the cameras. He could feel his fists clenching as he watched the f _amily_ prance around Talia. An almost recognizable emotion boiled inside of him whenever he saw the gentle way, she ran her hand through Jason’s hair. How _his_ son leaned into her and the bright smile he gave that was unburdened with bitterness and anger.

He only got a small satisfaction out of watching how Talia had to learn what he already knew about Damian. And yet it still pale in comparison at how at ease he was with his mother. As if he knew just speaking with her would solve his problems. Did the boy forget how she let him be raised? As a soldier! As a murderer!

It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. It was appalling. What did this wicked woman have that he did not? How could his sons forget all the love he had for them and give it to _her_? She was evil! She didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as them.

And yet she was.

She looked comfortable doing pushups with Damian sitting on her back as he recounted a tale about one of his missions with Jon. She was approving and complimented him on his friendship. _A Kryptonian? A good choice._

Her niece. Jamila Al Ghul. He had never heard of her until Jason brought her up and yet she seemed to age backwards as she sat cross-legged on Jason’s bed sporting a soft smile. Talia had fussed over her greatly as soon she was on her feet. There was a story there and he will find out what it was. It didn’t help matters with the guilty looks the two gave Jason whenever his attention was diverted elsewhere.

He didn’t to save his sons for her clutches but how could he save them when he was the villain in the story?

He just _knew_ that when everything was over. Talia would take them from him.

Batman was compromised and it was all that devil of a woman’s fault.

\--

Jamila was nervous as she sat in the chair of Jason’s office. Her aunt had convinced her that she should tell Jason why he was named the Heir. She didn’t necessarily like it, but she could understand. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. She had nothing to worry about.

Her aunt was currently at the Batcave arguing with the others over the plan to get inside of the compound. She had already contacted Lady Shiva and Ubu. Plan 88c was being used by the workers at the compound. And their esteemed dimension guests were hiding them and informing them of what was going on.

Her aunt wanted to include them in the cover but then Jamila reminded her of how Batman was an asshole and she refused to let him anywhere near them. Talia agreed, of course.

They would be leaving for the compound soon. Aunt Talia trained nonstop to get herself back in shape, but it’d be another month before she back to her full capacity. Jamila ran a hand through her hair. Once they settled things with her mother, she was going to stay with the League for a little while longer. She had been away from her home for too long.

She almost jumped out of her skin when Jason walked through the door. He looked at her in worry and quickly crossed the room. He had her cuddled up in his arms before she could even blink.

“What’s wrong, Jami?

Jamila almost flinched at the long-forgotten nickname. It made her feel guilty for keeping such a secret an even though it wasn’t bad per say… she and Jason didn’t really keep secrets between the two of them. And this would be two major secrets… well no, this would be three.

One would be the fact that she had died nearly a year and half ago. The single strip of cotton colored hair was proof of her descent into the waters of the Lazarus Pits. Her connection to the Lazarus demon was stronger than ever. Probably the strongest in record of their family especially since the death of Ra and taking on his inner demon.

And now these two secrets that are so intertwined that one doesn’t know where it begins and where it ends. She, the Jamila Al Ghul, had been bested by her own body. She couldn’t even be the Heiress anymore. Bah, she hated politics and the ruling of the clans that made up the Nanda Parbat. 

She detangles herself from her cousin and sat up straight. She wiped her face to get rid of any traces of tears. Straightening out her clothes, it was as if a switched was flipped inside of her. 

Jamila sat forward like the regal being that she was. She folded her hands in her lap. “Jason, I have something to tell you regarding the clan.”

He looked at her curiously before nodding his head at her. He relaxed in his own seat and tilted his head to her in an almost bored manner. He doubted it was anything that could really knock him off his feet. Not like being secretly named the heir.

“Well first off, I’m technically the reason you’re the heir to the title.”

“…”

Jason could only stare. 

Clearing his throat awkwardly, “And how is that?”

Jamila shot him a carefree smile, “Well, when I told you all that I was the rightful heir, I wasn’t lying. And it has nothing to do with my brother.”

She turned her gaze to look at the picture of Jason and her aunt that he had on his desk. “I’m currently the eldest biological grandchild of Ra Al Ghul. Damian relinquished his title as heir when he turned his back on our family. Grandfather hadn’t chosen a successor when he died so the title fell to Mistress Talia as the only legitimate child to take on the position. Mother and Uncle Dusan had been exiled.”

She hated talking politics. It just added on to the reasons of her being glad to no longer be heiress. “The Mistress needed to name an heir. My brother was too far removed and could not take it on. He left the clan willingly and with Mother exiled, it only added on more reasons why. Damian renounced the title and the council didn’t want to treat him for the disrespect. He was just jumped to the end of the succession line. “

Jason nodded his head seriously, “That only left you, me, and Anastasia.”

She nodded her head once, “The council was afraid that if Anastasia ended up in her father’s presence anytime soon, he would poison her mind and turn her against our home. She has done well for herself despite being only thirteen. She had her first kill almost a year ago. I was so proud. A servant of the Zoldyck clan stepped out of line and she went in to put an end to them.”

Jamila smiled serenely, “It was one of my newest poisons. I had just brewed a new batch and I hadn’t even thought of an antidote. It was lethal and fatality rate was at eighty-seven percent. She stole it from me, and I didn’t even notice! A small tick was all that was needed to get it in his bloodstream. He had been dead in mere minutes, but the compounds of the potions made the made feel as if he had been poisoned for days. Its one of my favorites.”

Jason thought that neither of them should feel so proud over small children murdering, but they had long since desensitize themselves to such petty things. Though he is not too proud to admit that he was glad that Damian no longer killed or that Anastasia had waited so long in life before her first kill.

Jamila shook her head slowly, “Either way, the council had not wanted Anastasia as the heiress until they could be sure of her loyalty with no setbacks. And that left me and you.”

It was as if a weight had settled onto her shoulders, “I had been instantly named heir. The last biological grandchild of Ra Al Ghul.I have full control over Lazarus. Skilled in every which and way. My alias brought fear into my enemies’ heart. I was perfect. I grew up in the compound. I grew up in Nanda Parbat. The perfect choice.”

Jason’s brows furrowed, “So how did I end up becoming the heir?”

Jamila’s jaw clenched.

“I relinquished my title. Not because I just didn’t want to be the heiress, but the way that clan was structure would’ve made it impossible for me to do so anyway.”

Her cousin rose a brow before she took a deep breath. She removed the hair tie on wrist and instantly her appearance change. The henged dropped. Her hair grew longer down her back. Her ankles swollen to an uncomfortable portion. Her skin seemed glow and look deathly pale at the same time.

Jason was frozen in shock as he looked her. He read the laws of the league. Hell, Talia made him take classes in law, philosophy, psychology and business. He knew exactly why she couldn’t be the heir any longer.

“I’m pregnant.” 

-

Kyle was a detective. Not in the way that the Bats were or even the Arrows. But he was a space cop and he was good at his job. One of the most important lessons that he learned was that when shit went wrong… blame Hal.

And boy, he is blaming all of this on Hal.

He hadn’t even been gone from Earth long. But he comes back to find out that his slightly trigger happy sometime-boyfriend’s foster mother had been turned into a baby. His knife wielding cousin looked like she wanted to simultaneously give him a hug and gut him like a fish before skinning him like snake.

Then there’s also the fact that his best friend Connor had been kidnapped by his batshit crazy mother. (And Kyle had been there for many nights of listening to Connor cry and scream thinking that the crazy lady was coming for him).

Did he mention that the scary cousin was also Connor’s sister? But that’s not even the kicker…

He ended up watching as the badass ninja-assassin mom take part in some ritual with his constructs keeping the weird potion _(I don’t deal with potions, kid!)_ that Constantine cooked up inside with her. It had been the longest three days of his life listening to the woman scream and thrash on the medical table.

It had taken the combine strength of Kori and Artemis to keep Jason down and from attempting to get to Talia. Even Bizarro had to deal with the enraged form of Jason’s cousin as her green eyes seemed glow with rage as she struggles against him.

It was heart wrenching watching the two of them shake and tremble as they tried to desperately reach for the Matriarch of their clan. (He could remember the whispers of secrets Jason would tell him about how he didn’t feel like a Wayne. How he felt more of a demon than a bat. ( ~~he would whisper back that he loved him all the same~~ ))

Soon the two of them seemed to overpower everyone just by their mere presence alone. The two of them had been carted off to the Outlaws hangout often. Roy had taken charge of the two and locked them in a training room.

It had been ruthless to see them attack each other and with all the intention to kill and only just shortly missing their marks. Red and green eyes seemed to bore into each other. Whenever Kyle managed to find sleep in between Talia’s haunting screams and murderous growls of cousins he swore he saw two spirts dancing over the heads of the cousins laughing at him. They seemed to grow stronger every day.

It hurt him to do so but he forced himself to leave the warehouse at almost every hour. He always ended up back by the woman whose vocal cords should have long went out. And yet her screaming never seemed to end.

Kyle was kind enough to pretend he didn’t see Batman handcuffing himself to his own chair and nervousness that seemed to run through the man. He pretended he didn’t see the look of pain and regret mixed with slight approval in Dick’s face. And he definitely didn’t see the affectionately dubbed _demon baby_ crying silently as he watched his mother thrash on around.

He wasn’t a religious person, but he thanked all the gods he knew from all the worlds he had visited for the day the woman stopped screaming and woke up.

Kyle didn’t know how but he was sure that it was somehow Hal’s fault.

\--

Talia sipped her tea as she watched everyone go over the last of the most acceptable plan to enter the Nanda Parbat and the Al Ghul compound. It would’ve been done with quicker, but her idiotic ex-lover had the audacity to think that she would give him a detailed outline of her home.

It was times like those that made her question what she had seen him so long ago.

She had already taken stock of some of the weapons that Jason brought. There were adequate and she made the mental note to buy him better ones. No child of hers was going to be walking around with such meager weapons.

Talia had dressed in one of the outfits that her darling niece managed to get for her from one of the Leagues stashes stationed around the city. She made another mental note to have them updated as the jumpsuit she was currently wearing was just a tad bit too little. Not enough to cause her problems but enough to irritate her.

She flickered her eyes over to her niece that was practicing some of her katas. She could tell easily from her posture that she was slipping herself into battle mode. Her hair had been pulled into an elaborate braid with senbons and small pocketknives. Her mask covered her face and the glow of her eyes could been seen through it.

From the way Jason worriedly glance at her, she knew that Jamila had told him over her condition beforehand. And yet, a simple band of interdimensional technology and medicine kept her true appearance from showing.

Her son had already come to her nearly five times now to find a way to keep her out of the fight. But she knew how stubborn her niece was. She was going to join in the raid of taking down her mother or she’d just take everyone down that stood in her way.

She made another mental note to drag her niece to the medical teams after everything was finished. And another note to take her off the roster for missions until after the child was born and she was recovered.

Talia glanced worriedly down at her tea. Looking at her niece and her children only made her more worried for her own daughter. She hoped Anastasia was safe and far away from Nyssa. She would make her sister _beg_ for death if her baby girl had been harmed in anyway.

A small tap on her shoulder had her looking up to see the space cop smiling lightly at her. She wondered if he knew that she knew about the relations that he was having with her son. Or that she knew that the two of them pretended to only be around each other for having mutual acquaintances.

He was holding onto a travel bag, “Everything’s set and ready. We leave in three minutes.”

She hummed lightly and accepted the bag from him, “Thank you, Kyle.” The answering smile made her wondered how irritated her son would be if she took in another child.

Probably exasperated. She wasn’t Bruce.

\--

“Mistress, we’ve just received word that the Batman and the Green Arrow are arriving with their entourage. Reports have stated seeing a woman that looked like Madam Talia.”

_“Dismissed.”_

Her eyes sparked with rage as she looked out at Nanda Parbat from her father’s throne. They had managed to reverse her dearest sister’s transformation. No matter. Nyssa was currently the Demon Head and she had already presented her son as her heir.

There was no way for her sister to change anything she had already won. And she couldn’t wait to rub it in her face.

“Come, oneechan. Let us prove which of us is the better daughter once and for all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the late updates. things have been hectic at with family.
> 
> but anyway my birthday is sunday. june ninth. I'm going to be 21 :)


	8. |eight|

Damian didn’t know how to feel. It felt like millennia since he stepped foot in Nanda Parbat. Even though he knew that it was temporary. He knew that it wouldn’t last. He knew it was only for a moment.

It still felt like home.

He watches silently as the mountains call for him. His mother. His cousin. His sister. His… his brother. He sees how Queen and Lance seem to relax. Yes, Nanda Parbat. A place of healing and enlightenment. And yet, its shadows are coated with enough blood to fill the red sea.

His mother stands before them as she looks upon their home. His brother and cousin flanked her sides. They looked like the perfect warriors that they were born to be. His mother turns her head to glance back at him. He suddenly feels _wrong._ He had been raised to be the one by his father’s side as his partner. It was his destiny. His heritage to take over the mantle in the future. And yet, here he stood as Robin and he felt _wrong_.

She smiles at him knowingly, and suddenly, he’s unpinning the Robin emblem. His pulls his sword from underneath the seats of the Bat plane. He tugs his hood over his head. It isn’t much, yet he feels more like himself than he has in long time.

His eyes glow in a way they haven’t since his birth.

He stops denying who he truly was.

Robin. Heir to the Demon. Son of the Bat. The Demonic Prince. A Dark Knight. An Al Ghul. A Wayne.

Damian.

\--

Athanasia watched quietly from the rafters as The Forgotten One’s guards patrolled the cell areas. She had received word earlier that her mother was planning to a raid. Right now, she had to help her mother’s most trusted escape from the cells that her aunt through them in. Lady Shiva. Lord Ubu. Lord Wilson and his daughter Rose. Lord Lawson was also here.

She dropped from the rafters in the middle of guard change and quickly pick the lock to Lady Shiva’s cell. When the next guard came, Lady Shiva was already moving to take her down as Athanasia moved on to free the others.

She bowed deeply as she apologized, “I will like to formally apologize on my mother’s behalf for the offense my aunt has dolt out. This should have never happened, and she will pay dearly for her crimes.”

A small smirk pulled at Sandra’s lips as she waved away the apology, “Thank you, Athanasia. Your manners are impeccable as always.”

Mr. Lawson leaned against the wall, “Where is your mother anyway? How did Nyssa get the drop on her to be able to do all of this?”

She sighed deeply. Troubled. “Mother had been compromised and needed to be sent away for her safety. These past two months have been troubling, but all is well now. She had her a few days of recovery and she’s on her way here to take back what it rightfully hers.”

Lord Wilson chuckled a little bitterly, “Good ole Talia. Can always count on her to come.”

Athanasia tilted her head to the side before she turned away, “Yes, Mother will do anything to make sure Grandfather’s legacy doesn’t end up in Aunt Nyssa’s hand. She also quite determined to make sure my brothers and I don’t end up in her hands. Otherwise, who knows what could happened. Mother would do anything for her children.”

Lady Shiva stood tall. Her back ramrod straight as she gazed upon her, “She didn’t have you bust us free just to stand around. What’s the plan?”

When she turned back to look at them, her eyes were glowing green.

\--

To Jamila, the world was tinted green. She felt at peace. She felt like herself. She was home. A place she has spent many years running from. From where they were hiding in the forbidden mountains, she could almost see the area where she dumped her grandfather’s body after she had killed him.

A small shudder ran through. She could still feel his blood on her hands. She can still the see the way the light fades away in his eyes. She hears Lazarus roar in her head. She feels how his body slackens. She sees how proud he is. It’s like being under water and just barely hearing his words as realizations crashes down upon her.

_You are the Demon Head._

A manicured hand lays gently on her face. She comes back to herself. She’s no longer staring into the aging face of her grandfather. Her aunt is staring at her in concern. Again, as she had many times before, she wishes the woman before her was her mother.

“Are you with us, my love,” her aunt’s voice soothes. She gives herself a mental shake. She could deal with her emotions and the ghosts of her past later. Right now, she has a mission to complete. And the mission comes first.

She nods her head once before she is once again turning away. She stares at the compound in which she was raised.

_You are the Demon Head._

No. She wasn’t. She wasn’t the demon head. She wasn’t the demon head’s heiress.

She was the Death Demon. She was the Demon of Death. She was an Al Ghul. She was a Wilson. She was Nyssa Raatko’s daughter. She was Slade Wilson’s daughter. She was Talia Al Ghul’s niece. She was Damian and Anthanasia’s cousin. She was Jason’s cousin. She was Ra Al Ghul’s granddaughter.

She was the League’s hope.

Huh. Maybe she _is_ the demon’s head.

She was Jamila Al Ghul.

It was time her mother learned that.

\--

Jason didn’t know how to feel. He hadn’t stepped foot here in a long while. But now?

He could hear the mountains call for him. Standing beside Talia and he felt like a fifteen-year-old boy again just finding out that he died and came back to life. Finding out that his f _ather_ let his killer roam free. Replaced him.

It was almost enough to spark an aged old bitterness in him. He steps away as Talia comforts Jamila as she deals with her own ghost of this place. Nanda Pardat, a place of healing and enlightenment. He inwardly snorted. This place only picked at old wounds that he thought that time had close.

His team move to his side and he feels the burning heat as Kori’s hair brushes against him. It didn’t bother him. He had been stoned cold dead on the inside for years. If anything, it reminded him that he had much to live for.

He squeezes Kyle’s hand when it slips into his. After this, he should do better by this man. He seems determined to stick around him no matter how hard he pushes him away. Roy catches his eyes and he nods at his best friend. He flashes a small smile at Artemis and something warm fills him as she scoffs lightly but he _knows_ he’s not imagining the smile on her face. He pats Bizarro on the shoulder instead of going for a hug as usual.

He squeezes Kyle’s hand one more time before walking back over to Talia and Jamila. His cousin looks like she dealt with her own ghosts. His flaming daggers are pricking at his skin.

“Everything ready, T,” he questions as soon as he nears. The two women turn to look at him. Their piercing green eyes run over his form before his aunt gives a sharp nod. She gestured everyone else over.

“Yes, everything should be in place by now. We’re just waiting for---”

The southeast corners (the forbidden quarters if he’s remembering correctly) blow up in a cloud of smoke. Jamila’s laugh rings loud into the night.

“That. We’re waiting on that.”

Damian is staring at his mother with wide eyes, “Mother, weren’t those Aunt Nyssa’s quarters?”

Jamila’s laughter makes much more sense. Talia waves his words away, “It matters not. I’ve been meaning to redecorate. Come now. This way. We’ll be moving through the secret corridor in Father’s old quarters. I thought that it’d come in handy one day and I was right.”

Jason spared a small glance back at his comrades, “Let’s go.”

They were smart enough to know not to mention his gleaming red eyes.

\--

It was surprisingly easy to get throw the compound filled to the brim with rogue soldiers. Talia can admit that. Though she was greatly appalled that these were the warriors that her sister assigned for her own protection? She honestly felt like she was in one of the martial arts classes’ that Jason used to drag her to. The ones were the martial arts teacher obviously had no idea what they were doing. Black belts? More like on the brim of blue and purple.

Hardly good enough to stop her.

Jamila’s already pulling a hidden tablet from the floorboards right outside of Father’s offices. She hands the device over to Talia and her fingers fly over the keyboard as she shuts down the system.

Feet are running in their direction and Jamila’s flickering her guns out. Her braid bounce as she stalks into the hallway. Her Beloved moves to follow her. Probably to stop her from killing like the rest of his brood have done since they’ve entered the building.

“I will not hesitate to put a bullet right through your dick, _Batman,”_ Jamila growls without turning around. “Back off.”

And then she gones around the corner. The sound of gunshots and metal hitting flesh is heard. Laughter so dark and ugly. Screams of pain.

Talia is searching the security systems and cameras trying to pinpoint Nyssa’s location. Trying to make sure she doesn’t have her daughter.

“ _Please. Please. Don’t kill me. Let me go. PLEAS---”_

Pointed silence met Jamila as she walked back into the room. She scoffed lightly, “They’re still alive.” Only Talia heard the _for now_ in the air.

Standing back to full height, she turned towards them. Her gaze was still on the tablet in her hands. “She’s recalling all of her men to her. She will no doubt have my nephew at her side. We will cross through Jason’s quarters and then take the long way around through Damian’s old quarters then make our way into the throne room. I’ll send off word for our inside team to meet us at the crossways between mine and Jamila’s quarters.”

Talia paid no mind to whisper of Jason’s lover questioning the others of just how big the compound was. She’s already moving, and her strides doesn’t stop as she snatches one of these lowlifes’ thugs’ guns off the ground as she heads towards her sister.

Its time to end this.

Maybe she’ll plunge her into a Lazarus pit over and over and over again until the only thing she knows is pain and angry and green. So much green.

She’s moving on autopilot as she takes down any assailant coming her way. A part of her that stills there keeps from killing them at _that_ moment. If they just so happen to die from their wounds, well what’s one less worthless piece of trash in the grand scheme of themes.

She’s tossing some man the size of Ubu over her shoulder. Her heels click as she continues down the hall. Jason and Jamila jump out in front of her and take down more men. Damian is spinning through the air as his sword twirls alongside him.

Her stride never breaks.

They were almost to Jason’s quarters. She didn’t even blink when a glowing green starblast hit someone square in the chest. She casually stepped of the way of a glowing green hand pulling men up from the floor.

She nodded her head at the Amazon as she swung her battle ax through the air. She accepted the hand from the clone as he flew her over some women looking like pincushions from various arrows.

She’s fighting back to back with her beloved. It felt like old times before everything went to hell. Before the world turned green. Green with jealousy. Green. Green. Green. She remembers Nyssa. Her sister. And it hurt so bad. The green. It hurt her.

She smashes some man’s head into the glass table.

Talia keeps on walking.

A scream pierces the air and a man goes flying through the window.

They’re almost to the crossways.

She reloads her gun.

The barrel of her gun is pointed at a masked face. Jamila has one pressed against a wall with a knife pressed tightly to their throat. The green fades away as a hand clasps her shoulder. She blinks and she’s looking into an orange and black mask. Ubu is once again by her side. Jamila releases her sister.

She can’t see it, but she knows that Slade is smiling mockingly at her. Its out of character for her. At least to Bruce and the rest of his brood and allies. But she’s laughing and punching Slade on the shoulder lightly.

“The Princess is storming the castle,” he jokes lightly and she’s laughing again. “I have to protect the crown.”

He’s stepping out the way and gesturing down the hall, “Well don’t let me stop you.”

“You won’t.”

And then she’s turning towards her daughter. She hugs Anthanasia tightly and run her hand over her daughter’s face. She sees small wounds and bruises appearing on her skin. Anger lights up her entire being. Jamila is beside her placing her hand on either side of Anthansia’s face before turning her head side to side. She captures the girl into a hug.

Talia doesn’t look back to see the shock on her beloved’s face. Now is not time. She’s moving again and she doesn’t have to look back to know that Jamila and Ubu and Anthanasia and Jason have all blocked Bruce’s access to her. Sandra is at her side and she could feel amusement dripping off her friend.

They’re moving together again as they take down the last of the stranglers. Both flipping through the air wrapping their legs around their opponents’ necks.

Ubu pushes the doors to the throne room open forcefully. Its basically an army standing before them. Talia holds up the tablet in her hands. She types in the code to the prison cells without looking knowing that all her agents were in there.

The exiled warriors’ part like the red sea. She sees her nephew first. Standing at the side of the throne like she did many years ago at her father’s side. He looked so dutiful. So, brainwashed by the ideals that were not his own. She will save him.

Green meets green.

“Hello, sister.”


	9. |nine|

Nyssa stared silently at the group standing before her.

Her sister. Her ex-husband. The Wayne family. And Oliver’s family. Lady Shiva. Deathstroke and Deadshot. Talia’s _pet,_ Ubu. Deathstroke’s daughter, Rose. Another girl who looked far too similar to her traitorous nephew. Hm, her niece then. Talia’s charity case, the False Heir. His friends. The Archer. The Alien. The Clone. The Amazon. The Lantern. And the Death Demon.

“Hello, sister.”

Talia’s sea green eyes pierce into hers, “Nyssa, this ends now. Surrender and I may spare your life.”

Nyssa laughs harshly, “I think you’re confused about who has the power here, dear sister. Its too bad that they didn’t leave you as a child. Father had always thought you were much more manageable that way. I had planned to fix you where he went wrong so that we could run this world as we were meant to. A world created in our image and my darling Prince as our esteemed leader.”

“You’re delusional,” the False Heir spat.

“Give us back Connor,” the red head archer cried out. She remembered him. The father of Cheshire’s spawn. The one her son had acquired his vigilante name from.

She lounged backwards into the throne, “No, I do not think I shall. He is my precious boy. He is my son. My Lazarus Prince.”

“He’s not yours any longer,” her ex-husband spat. Nyssa didn’t flinch but it was a near thing as she glared poisonously at him, “Only because you tainted his mind! You made him turn his back on everything he stood for. Turned his back on his poor mother. I gave him LIFE!”

The Lantern sneered at her and it looked so strange on his face, “You gave him nightmares and so much anxiety that’d bring a weaker man to his knees. You gave him so much fear that even though he’s a known vigilante he s _tills_ watches his back and jumps harshly at shadows. You filled him with so much pain that he _forgot_ who he was. That doesn’t sound like a mother to me.”

Nyssa stands and growls at the impudent fool, “Who are you to tell me about my son!”

He’s snarling, “I’m his best friend,” at the same time that Talia is smiling, “He’s my Jason’s lover.”

There was a beat of silence as all eyes turns towards the two men. Nothing was said before the moment was ruined as Lady Shiva and the Death Demon reached into their shirts and exchanged money. At the look of indignation on the False Heir’s face, the Death Demon waved her hand with stating that they’d handle it later.

“We have more important things to worry about. The Exiled One needs to surrender Connor,” she states with such a mocking tone as she calls Nyssa by that horrible name. “I say we have a Duel of Submission. Or simply put a Tí Jiāo.”

“What’s that,” the one called Nightwing questioned as he stood tensely. She should just kill them all and save herself the trouble, but a Duel of Submission does sound interesting.

“It’s an old tradition that dated back to when Father was a child. A duel of Submission. It kept the underlings in control and as time passed, Father changed the rules up constantly until it resembled something completely different than what it started as,” Talia commented.

“That’s right, sister,” Nyssa cooed as she ran her hand through her son’s hair. “I will consider releasing Connor if someone were to best him in combat, and only someone that had an actual biological connection to the Al Ghul lineage.”

Nyssa nearly laughed as she watched the way her sister looked worriedly down at her two children. Those twins of hers from her beloved Bruce. Nyssa hadn’t known about the girl, but obviously she wasn’t too skilled to be able to take down her Connor.

There was no one.

She wo—

The one called Death Demon stepped into the arena.

\-- 

Talia felt her heart stop when Jamila stepped into the arena with her head held high. She felt lightheaded as she clutched at Jason’s arm. What was she doing? Her darling niece. Her very _pregnant_ niece. She remembered the little girl who would follow her all around the compound with her practice knife and copying her mannerisms.

She was going to get herself killed.

She was going to expose her parentage.

If it weren’t for Jason holding onto her, she would’ve jumped over the railing and hid the girl for the rest of her life. Talia looked towards her sister. She was lounging in the throne of the Demon’s head. _Her_ throne. _Their father’s_ throne.

She watched as the anger bled into her sister’s features.

“Who are you to claim relation to the Al Ghul line,” Nyssa demanded. Jamila didn’t even flinch.

“I am Jamila Al Ghul. Granddaughter to the Demon. Third in the Line of Succession for the Demon’s Head Title. Daughter of Nyssa Raatko and Slade Wilson. Maternal Half-sister to Connor Al Ghul. Paternal Half-sister to Joey, Grant, and Rose Wilson.”

The flames surrounding the area burned green at the truth of her words. Talia watched as shocked crossed her sister’s face. She rose a brow in challenge when Nyssa’s gaze switched to her. It was true. There was no use in hiding or lying about it.

“Talia,” she heard Slade growl lowly. There was pain in his voice. She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“She didn’t want you to know,” she whispers. Slade was too trained to flinch, but it was a near thing.

“Hear the call of the ancestors. Of all the points of contact. Calling on all the strength from the Al Ghul Line. I challenge you, Connor Al Ghul-Hawke-Queen. For the title as Heir to the Demon. If I win, you forfeit your right to the claim and replace me as third in line. If you win, _brothe_ r, I swear my undying loyalty to you and your reign.”

It was a bold claim. If Talia didn’t hold so much trust for her niece, she would feel a sparkle of fear of her joining her sister. But she _did_ know her niece and she knew what she was capable of. She also knew that while her nephew was fueled by the Lazarus Pits, Jamila had not only the waters of the Lazarus Pits but her father’s own enhanced regeneration cells flowing through her blood.

As Talia’s father had hoped, he once again created the perfect soldier. He just hadn’t counted on her only giving him the loyalty that any soldier would. She cared nothing for him. A fact proven true when she appeared before Talia in the middle of the night. Her eyes had been wild and filled with bloodlust. Death wove around her like a web as her swords hissed with poison. She looked like an actual demon in a way that none of the other Al Ghuls could. It was through broken and feverish whispers that Talia learned of how Jamila challenge Ra to a duel. How even when she was down and broken… she still wouldn’t give up on the fight. As soon as her arms healed enough for her to move, she threw acid at his face before continuing to battle for the kill. It wasn’t until her sword had sunken through his heart and another through his throat that she realized what she had done. She destroyed all evidence of a fight between them and silently disposing of the body before fleeing.

Talia watched as Nyssa’s eyes purred with delight. She called for Connor to accept the challenge. She was severely underestimating Jamila.

Talia saw the lost before the battle even started.

\--

Jason had no idea what Jamila was doing. He had no idea why she was standing in the ring. He didn’t even notice when she left from his side to get there. He didn’t know why she was fighting a death match while pregnant even if you couldn’t even tell.

But then she was moving with grace and ease. She ducked under Connor’s arm and punched him in the stomach hard. He could sense Lazarus in her howling and screaming with excitement. And it was always a treat to watch her fight.

The way she casually picked him before slamming him into the ground. How sprung away like a cat as he tried to kick her off. She smiled mockingly as she twists her body this and that way around soaring arrows. She landed softly as her eyes began to bleed an even brighter green.

He notices how Kyle seems to shiver as Jamila surrendered herself to Lazarus. The room seemed to grow colder, and the air seemed to charge before she is moving in blurs of speed. It was at moments like these that Jamila proved why she was best of the family. She was well trained, and you could hardly see her or her attacks. But the aftereffects were there if you paid attention to how Connor was being thrown around the ring with no stability.

How she’d pinned him to the floor before throwing him into the air and kicking him away only to reappear and punch him in various succession as he flew into a wall. Connor shot a smoke screen arrow to attempt to give himself some breathing room, but even that didn’t work. It only made the sense of doom more apparent as her green eyes glow ominously in the cloud of smoke. She walked calmly towards him and with a small flick, her ice daggers appeared. Jason could feel his own flaming daggers piercing at his skin in response before she was shooting across the floor and only slightly missing Connor.

And then---

And then Connor’s eyes started glowing and the fight started all over again.

But Jamila had never known when to give up. Even if he could only remember it in pieces, he could vaguely recall a girl too small for her age with a scowl to scare the gods themselves forcing him to fight her. Training him even when he was technically brain dead. She kept going pushing him more and more each day.

That day Talia pushed him off the cliff to free him from Ra’s clutches… he remembers the small body that flew off behind him and twirled through the air. He remembered trying to fight her off midair and she overpowered him. And he realized it was all for naught because she was helping him escape. The whispers of the Death Demon echoing through the underground as she made a name for herself. Watching the way, she stands up to Bane and knowing she was outclassed by his strength, yet she still played and danced around the brute before disappearing into the night.

He looks at her now and he sees her as he always had. She wasn’t even the heiress anymore. She was the Demon’s Head.

The sharp sting of Talia’s nails reigns him in and he realizes that he was leaning over the railing. The demon inside of him was screaming for freedom. Screaming to join in the fight. But Jamila’s mere presence just seemed to overpower everything. He chanced a glance at Nyssa to see her nearly salivating at the mouth as his cousin continued to fight. Her already enhanced biology tripled with the power of Lazarus were enough for her punches to starts leaving small craters.

Talia’s grip is near bruising on his bicep as Jamila’s attack become wilder and harsher. The temperature continues to drop, and he has arm wrapped tightly around Kyle as the man seems to struggle to stand on his two feet. A twinkling sound echoes through the air and it takes him a moment to realize that its Jamila laughing. It sounds like pain and anger and vengeance. It sounds like death.

“She’s going to kill him,” Talia worried mummers. “We need to stop this.”

Sandra is standing beside her with her hands gripping the railing tightly, “We can’t.”

Slade kept his eyes on his daughter as she bounced around the room throwing all caution to the wind as she stopped fighting and started attacking. And he could recognize the difference. At first, she was playing, now she was serious. “I thought you all knew how to control the demon inside of you.”

Jason swallows a bit of worry as he answers, “We do. But Jamila had always had a special relationship with Lazarus. It was always her f _riend._ She had the best control out of all of us, but this? This is pure demon. We have to find a way to stop her or well never get Jamila back.”

Roy braced himself tightly as he forced himself to look away from the current bloodshed, “What are we supposed to do?”

“We have to force Lazarus away,” Talia declares. And its silent as most of them knew to get rid of it may very well end in either injury or death.

\--

Jamila’s head feels cloudy as her body moves through the motions. She doesn’t know what’s going on. All she could see was green and a flash of silver. Was it silver? She hears the sounds of a blade. Was she fighting? Who was she fighting?

She’s spinning and she’s laughing. What was she doing?

There was something blocking her sight.

Wait.

It was just smoke.

She could still see.

There was someone standing in front of her.

They looked familiar.

They had eyes like her.

Did they kill someone too?

Were they a murderer?

She didn’t want to be a murderer anymore.

She had a child now.

A baby.

She didn’t want the baby to grow up like she did.

Is that what she was doing?

Keeping the baby away from the family.

The silver was red now.

But it was green.

_Jamila_

She hears.

Someone was calling her.

_Jamila_

She hears.

There was something growling.

_Jamila_

It sounded muffled.

_MILA_

Only Jason called her that. Where was Jason?

The silver was there again.

There was a dark and ugly sound.

It sounded like rusted bells.

Was it coming from her?

_MEE LEE_

Tete Lia?

There was a pressure on her wrist before something begins to burn.

Oh.

She was bleeding.

But it was green.

Her blood wasn’t green.

_Lazarus?_

_Lazarus?_

_Jamila._

She hears the growling again.

_Lazarus give me control. Please._

_Jamila._

_The baby._

She pauses. The baby was in danger?

_The Exiled One. Nyssa._

Mother was near?

_Lazarus give me control. She can’t get the baby!_

Shecantgetthebaby. Shecantgetthebaby.

_She won’t._

The world is clear.

Jamila blinks as she comes back to herself as she forcibly stops herself from stabbing her brother through his heart. She stands to her feet shakily before turning to where her mother sat staring at her as she was prized animal.

“I win,” Jamila croaks. Her voice sounds hoarse to her own ears. Her body was sore even as Lazarus began to sooth her aches. She presses a hand to her stomach, and she prays the baby is safe. What was she thinking? Letting Lazarus have full control like that? She could’ve lost her baby.

Nyssa’s smiles widen and Jamila can only guess what was on her mind, but she cared little for it. She picks up the crumpled form of her mother as she makes her way over. If she tried hard enough, she’d bet she can hear the yelling that her aunt and cousin had in store for her. But all she could really feel was the weight of the shadows coming from the place she had called home for many years before she ran. “You know, I saw Grandfather hours before he went missing,” she states casually. Her arms are cradling her brother as her wounds begin to heal. She won’t let him go. She won’t let her mother get him again. “I had been surprised since he didn’t like to spend time with anyone that wasn’t Mistress Talia. But we _talked_ and the last thing he said to me was ‘You are the Demon Head’.”

She stands up straighter as she bore holes into her mother. Her mother who stared at her wide eyed as the flames of truth burst forth into the air and bled green.

“And you’re in my seat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting closer to the heir reveal and closer to the end


	10. |ten|

It’s quiet in the room after Jamila’s declaration. Nyssa was staring at her with some sort of mixed of awe and horror. Talia was near faint on his arms. Damian and Anthanasia were standing tense. And Jason was proud and confused. What was her angle here? What was Jamila playing at?

She stood in front of them dramatically with green flames surrounding her. Her braid had come undone and the small knives and senbons decorated her hair like jewelry. She kept her gaze on Nyssa waiting and watching until she just stopped.

Jamila walked forward casually the flames sinking back into the ground. She passes by Jason and the others and passes Connor off to Roy before continuing towards the throne. Nyssa was red with rage and before anyone knew it, she was flying towards Jamila with her blade out.

Jamila barely dodged but before she could get herself into a defensive stance, Slade was on the floor fighting against Nyssa. Everyone stood there and watched as these two assassins went head to head. Well everyone but Talia as she rushed over to Jamila’s side quickly.

“No,” Nyssa roared. “It won’t end like this! I finally won!”

Jason snorted, “Go suck a dick.”

The woman whirls towards him and Jason can see nothing but pure hatred in her eyes. Its more than he has ever seen in his life-both of them. She kicks Deathstroke out of her way and she’s storming towards him dangerously.

“You,” her voice promises death and torture. “This all your fault. You’ve ruined everything.”

It’s not something that he hasn’t heard before, but he does take note of the way Kyle tightens his grip around him. “You should’ve stayed dead. I am going to make you beg for death, False Heir.”

She’s running towards him now before a small figure cut in between them.Jamila stood before her mother shaking with anger. “Get away from my cousin.”

Nyssa bares her teeth. “I’ll deal with you later, my traitorous daughter.”

Jamila swipes at her, “Stand down, mother, or I will put you down.”

Nyssa swells with rage, “What are you idiots waiting for? Attack them! But leave the False Heir to me.”

The words are barely out of her mouth before they were dodging attacks from her subordinates. Jason felt Kyle get ripped away from him as the masses encircled them. He hears a cry of pain that sounds far too much like Replacement and his world starts to bleed red.

He ends up fighting back to back with Roy and Kori and it feels so much like the old days. He stops aiming for joints instead going to for kill shots. This was his family in _active_ danger. Nyssa’s assassins wouldn’t hesitate to cut them down without remorse. At least with Talia’s they can get away with their life.

He hears Nyssa more than sees her as she has a mental breakdown in the middle of the battle. He hears her accusations. He hears the threat she spits out. He can’t see her, but he hears, and he just knows that Jamila and Talia are in the thick of it.

But at the same time, he’s looking for Kyle. He’s looking for Artemis. He’s looking for Biz. He can’t see them through all these people. And that’s saying something since Kyle is in a snow-white suit with a rainbow ring. Not to mention, he and Biz can fly.

Kori pulls Jason and Roy into the air over the arc of an axe and Jason traces it back to Artemis and there she is. She was standing with Kyle protecting Connor’s body as they kept pushing people back.

“Nyssa,” Talia snarls as she cuts men down. Jason shoots a couple of men on her six and he knows he’s going to be hearing his later from Bruce, but that was his _mother_.

Jason drops out of Kori’s arms and suddenly, he’s back to back with Duke. The yellow Robin was coming along nicely as his nunchaku swung through the air taking out opponents before they could get him. Being in this situation makes him intimately aware that he hasn’t spent enough time with his newest brother. But also brings to reason that Duke works during the _daytime_. The daytime where Jason is sleeping though the past two months were dealing with the _Little Devil,_ he had called his mother.

He was getting so into the fight that it took him a second to realize that he was being separated from the others. At least until Connor was jumping in the middle of the crowd surrounding him. He was truly a man of few words and for the longest time, Jason had thought the guy hated him. Until a party at HQ where he got drunk on some alien liquor mixed with t _he nectar of the gods_ and the “Lazarus Prince” rambled about being intimidated by him and not wanting to say anything that might insult him because Roy and Kyle seemed to really like him. As soon as they were sober, Jason got that shit fixed quick. And now he has somebody to talk shit with about overbearing and asshole dads (even though Roy was his number one shit talking buddy), how weird it is to deal with another presence living in your head (Jason was pleased to see Connor had a sense of humor and had absolutely no shame. Jason was not brave enough to question if Lazarus watched while having sex), and how scary their moms were.

At least in Jason’s case, Talia only threatens to kill him if he doesn’t check in with her daily and if he leaves a mess for her to clean up. Even Artemis had felt properly chastised after a disastrous mission in Australia that Talia had to step in for and she got on all of their cases. Its hard to be badass crime stopping outlaws when your mother has grounded you and have you on house arrest.

A glowing white hand rips a group of women up from in front of him only for them to then get slammed harshly into the ground by Rose. “Need a hand,” Kyle quipped as he dropped down. He throws him a sharp grin before running forward and jumping off one of his constructs. His daggers burst forward and Jason was pleased to note how the Nyssa’s people immediately back.

He doesn’t remember what happens exactly. It’s like a distant dream. He knows he ended up by Deadshot at one point and Jason handed over one of his guns with a quip to give it back at the end of everything. He ended up fighting side by side with Shiva and Cass and it’s a little awkward between the mother and daughter duo, so he wasn’t really that surprise with how fast he got away from that.

He’s jumping into the fight where some people attempt to team up on Anthanasia, but she seems to handle herself well if the way they were screaming and clawing at their faces was any indication. Jason didn’t even want to know what she was doing.

And then suddenly, Nyssa was _right_ there.

He only barely managed to dodge her attack when Jamila popped up out of the crowd and kicked her in the throat. “Give up, Mother. You will not win. Do you not understand? I am your superior in all that matters. I am the Demon of Death. The snake cloaked in poisons with more blood on my hands than a vampire’s buffet table. I am Jamila. The Demon’s Head.”

Nyssa only snarled in response, “No. I will fix this. I will reign supreme and bring about a new era like Father had wanted. I will not stand for your delusions to erode his visions. Not you. And not that simpleton—that abomination that Talia took in as a pet. He is not an Al Ghul and yet she named him her heir.”

_ “WHAT!” _

Jason flinched at Dick’s and Stephanie’s loud screeches. He was so not looking forward to that conversation. Jamila snarls harshly, “Jason is more than worthy to bear the Al Ghul name than you could ever be. I’m honored that he’s the Heir to the Demon. If there was anyone more than worthy to rule the League, it would be him.”

Nyssa sneers, “He won’t get the chance.” Jamila chuckles darkly, “I’m going to make you _wish_ you died with your failure of a family.”

The pure death that poured out Nyssa was astonishing as she switched her attention to Jamila. Her attacks became harder and wilder. The temperature began to drop once again, and Jamila began to surrender herself to Lazarus. “No one is going to hurt my family ever again,” her voice was as soft as normal with a growl that was so obviously Lazarus tinged to it. “Mother. Father. Aunt. Uncle. Grandmother. Grandfather. No one threatens my family and _live_.”

That was a confession if Jason had ever heard one. He had always suspected Jamila knew more than she let on about Ra Al Ghul mysterious death.

He and Jamila push Nyssa onto the defensive when a random voice begins to call out.

_“Demon of hatred,_

_be gone from this place,_

_remove your evil influence from our deeds.”_

Jamila locks up beside him before an ear-splitting scream erupts from her throat. He and Nyssa freeze for a second and it feels like something inside of him was burning before he was once again dodging her attacks. It was harder as Jamila was fighting sluggishly.

_ I call to thee, pure witch's fire, _

_ through vortex flow the heavenly mire. _

_ Cleanse brackish aura of debris, _

_ from dark to light, sweep history. _

Jason’s gun falls from his hand as he clutches at his head. What was going on? Why did everything hurt so bad?

_Host soul reject the poison essence,_

_Let love's light end this cruel possession_

The red in his eyes flickered and he was falling to his knees. Something was happening to Lazarus. What was going on? What was happening?

_ Demon's soul hides behind an innocent's face, _

_ This witch's magic casts you out of this place. _

Jason watched as one by one as his mother and siblings; his aunt and his cousins all fell to the ground. He could hear the screams coming from his friends and the Bats and the Arrows as they all rushed forward. He sees the way Damian clutches at his head. He sees how Anthanasia curls into a ball. He sees how Jamila claws at her eyes. He sees how Connor thrashes wildly. He sees the blood leaking for Nyssa’s ears. He sees Talia grasping for her throat.

He doesn’t see how he reaches for them all.

In the end, he couldn’t see at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, those are charmed spells. 
> 
> and the heir reveal. part one. because finding out mid-battle is not a good place to talk about things.
> 
> and how did Jamila end up becoming so integral this story? she was suppose to be a side character. in the background. a casual mention. how did she end up with her own plotline?
> 
> oh and Nyssa insane as usual.
> 
> and speaking of the spells? whats up with them and lazarus? 
> 
> next chapter should be up soon. :) hopefully. if the inspiration hits. no promises. it will go up though. that I can promise.


End file.
